Laura Maechtlen Participates in Daily Journal Roundtable
"Diversity"

On June 1, employment partner Laura Maechtlen participated in a Daily Journal discussion on what diversity means for law firms, corporations and the legal industry, and if law firms are likely to lose business if they do not meet a corporation’s diversity expectations. The roundtable discussed how diversity can be measured, both in numbers and in the development and retention of diverse attorneys at law firms. Laura noted, “At Seyfarth, we find that, when we are compiling information to show our clients that we have a meaningful commitment to diversity, every client has different expectations and interests. So it results in a relationship-by-relationship driven communication, which can sometimes be as meaningful in a client relationship as communications regarding substantive legal issues.”

Laura explained that Seyfarth recently developed a multi-year strategic plan that defines goals for internal and external initiatives in three main areas including recruitment, retention and community engagement. “As part of that strategic plan, we developed an internal scorecard which includes a variety of metrics that go far beyond pure numbers, including utilization and professional development…We believe the key is looking at deeper metrics, which obviously takes more time, energy, focus, and understanding about what your organization is doing. We have support in a national diversity action team, national affinity groups, and local diversity action teams that coordinate with our recruiting and professional development teams. So we hope that this network that is focused on diversity and inclusion can help us move forward as an organization.”