Lawyers Helping to Implement Corporate Diversity

Looking for the new big practice trend that'll move your from law firm to in-house? How about implementation of corporate diversity initiatives? Legal departments have long helped roll out employment, human resources, hiring, and compliance initiatives, and now they're helping with pushes for increased corporate diversity. In "Directing next-level diversity: Morgan Stanley and WalMart show the legal department can spearhead diversity initiatives that drive business value," Zack Warren of Inside Counsel reports how Alan Bryan, Associate General Counsel, Outside Counsel Management at WalMart Stores Inc., and Mike Henry, Chief Compliance Officer of Morgan Stanley's Merchant Banking and Real Estate Division and Chair of Legal and Compliance's Diversity & Inclusion Committee, are helping corporations improve diversity--an gain the financial rewards that come with greater diversity.

In addition to rolling out corporate-wide internal initiatives and promoting diversity within their own legal departments, these in-house counsel continue to consider diversity in retention of their outside counsel.

There's a second critical point in the article--this one more directly about career development and career opportunities for lawyers. Key (as always!) is networking. Many lawyers still refuse to believe networking is an important tool for their success. But Bryan proves, once again, that you have to get out from behind your desk and meet people!