Laura Maechtlen Quoted in the Daily Journal
"Diversity"

Seyfarth Shaw San Francisco office partner and member of the firm's Diversity Action Team Executive Committee Laura Maechtlen was quoted in the Daily Journal on June 1. The article discussed the business case for diversity and its role in the legal industry, and it included comments from attorneys working both as in-house and outside counsel. Questions were asked to examine how diversity is measured as well as how it affects the development and retention of diverse lawyers at law firms.

Laura said, "There are different perceptions and different expectations about what this amorphous 'business case for diversity' is within the profession generally, or in the relationship-based context of outside counsel working with corporate counsel. There can often be miscommunication about who is included within the umbrella of diversity when talking about the 'business case.' There is a lot of dialogue about the carrot and the stick concept where clients reduce work, or give more work, to firms based on whether they are doing meaningful work in the area of diversity and inclusion. But, with that model, what are the actual results and how you actually measure those results? In addition, what are the metrics used for measurement?"

She added, "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. So I viewed this question as how do you really turn diversity into a competitive advantage for your law firm or your law department? And how do you partner effectively with clients and/or outside counsel to achieve that?"

When asked about the important factors in measuring diversity, Laura pointed out the drawbacks when asked solely for numbers or statistics, as they "may not really demonstrate what an organization is doing meaningfully to drive diversity or inclusion within the profession or a firm."