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Gender Diversity in Law Firms Impacts Success

Gender Diversity in Law Firms Impacts Success

Achieving gender diversity at all levels of the legal field is essential for creating an equitable and prosperous law firm. The advantages of gender-diverse associates, management, and board members cannot be ignored in the hyper-competitive law industry. Research shows that gender-diverse law firms achieve 10% higher client spending and are 15% more likely to earn above-average financial returns. Given the numbers, firms must take action to increase their gender diversity. However, firms seeking a gender-diverse workforce face several challenges on their path to diversity. To counteract the unconscious bias and domestic responsibilities that most frequently block women’s advancement to positions of power, firms need to create a culture of inclusion, hire ESG (environmental, social, and governance) consultants, and codify hiring and advancement quotas. How to Build Gender Diverse Legal Teams and Leadership The key to building gender-diverse legal teams and firm leadership is attracting women with a gender-inclusive culture, offering flexible work options, and countering unconscious bias. Women make up over half of current law school graduates, so there is no reason for lack of representation at every level of a firm. Build a culture of diversity and inclusion Company culture is hugely important in attracting and retaining women in the workforce. Start creating an inclusive culture by giving your workers anonymous and non-anonymous ways of providing feedback. Consider hiring an ESG expert to assess your firm. They can determine which departments lack gender diversity and provide guidance on implementing gender-inclusive practices to promote company growth. Start a woman-to-woman mentorship program where women in higher positions meet with newly hired women to discuss and advise on careers. The most critical action in creating a culture of diversity is hiring and promoting more women. Hiring, retention, and advancement quotas Hiring quotas are legal if they are meant to fix a gross imbalance, do not unduly harm others, are temporary, and are regularly reviewed. Many firms have a gross inequality of gender diversity in their management, equity partners, and board of directors. Setting goals or quotas to match the gender makeup of the labor pool in these areas is an excellent practice to implement. Counteract unconscious bias and cultural obstacles Gender biases are usually unconscious, but they are undeniably detrimental to gender diversity. Simple fixes like removing gender indications from application materials and gender-based hiring and advancement goals can counteract unconscious bias’ adverse consequences. Women’s disproportionately large domestic and caregiving responsibilities are often cited as the most significant obstacles to career advancement. Providing women with flexible work alternatives, like remote work, helps overcome this cultural obstacle. Many companies already recognize the importance of alternative work options, so offering flexible work may already be part of your business structure. Expand it further with childcare benefits and flexible work hours. Culture of Diversity Creating a culture of diversity is essential to attracting and retaining high-quality talent. It acts as a magnet for talent because satisfied workers are a company’s strongest recruiting tool. Improving worker morale through an inclusive work culture also increases employee retention, which allows your firm to advance women to management positions. A diverse work environment shows continual benefits as women move into leadership positions. It creates an even more inclusive space that attracts high-achieving women to the firm. To create a culture of diversity, begin by hosting allyship seminars, setting hiring goals, and asking for continuous feedback from your current employees. As you implement these strategies, you can watch as your firm grows more diverse. Women in the Legal Field Most firms have been focusing their diversity efforts on entry to mid-level positions, with women well represented in junior to senior level partners. Firms’ biggest challenge is retaining women to advance them to management and board of directors positions. It is beneficial for firms to overcome this obstacle because clients primarily want women in positions of power. Always ask your clients about their opinions on your firm’s gender diversity because client feedback is a strong influencer in favor of more gender inclusivity. Top Firms are Leading the Way Some of the world’s largest law firms, including Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Linklaters, are leading the legal industry in gender diversity in positions of power after appointing women to be executive leaders. The legal field is creating a pipeline for the best women to overcome the obstacles and get a fair chance for the top positions. Many firms are also working with ESG experts to lead gender diversity. ESG factors provide legal firms with helpful guidelines regarding building a gender-diverse workplace. By partnering with an ESG expert candidate, your firm can adhere to socially progressive hiring criteria. Given the advantages of diverse workforces in legal firms, it is to every firm’s advantage to make this advancement pipeline a reality. A change toward gender diversity in law firms is occurring across the industry, and being a leader in this change is financially advantageous and morally correct. Hire Qualified Women Through Collier Legal Search While there are some obstacles to overcome to increase gender diversity in law firms, finding qualified women to hire does not have to be one. At Collier Legal Search, we take a consultative approach to connecting the best candidates for every open position. While your firm focuses on creating an inclusive culture, we send highly qualified candidates to uphold that culture and advance to positions of power. Contact us for more information on how we can help you increase gender diversity by providing ESG experts and offering smart candidate placement. Collier Legal Search founded by Kellie Collier and Kay Egger is a Woman-Owned Business.

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Boom of ESG

Boom of ESG in Legal Consulting

Recent years have seen a boom in ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) in legal consulting. ESG factors are continually growing in importance to businesses, investors, customers, and suppliers, and the trend shows no signs of stopping. Expected to continue for many years, corporations and law firms are now hiring their own armies of ESG experts, consultants, and advisors. Globally, ESG has taken hold as a central concern in corporate, financial, and legal entities to such a degree that to neglect ESG integration in your business is likely to lose you customers and jeopardize your competitive advantage. The financial industry in the United States today has already fully incorporated ESG, with younger investors, in particular, fueling the development. It follows that there has also been an boom of ESG in legal consulting. If you are a legal firm looking to incorporate ESG into your company structure, look no further than Collier Legal Search. We can draw on our extensive network of legal professionals fully versed in ESG to help overhaul your company to meet modern standards. What is ESG? Business as usual no longer suffices for U.S. companies to compete globally. With the explosion of global interest in ESG and the integration of ESG into the decision-making processes of almost every industry, you cannot afford to ignore it. But what is ESG? ESG stands for Environmental, Social, and (Corporate) Governance, which are intangible assets within an enterprise that nevertheless translate into a kind of social credit for a company: Environmental relates to environmental concerns such as the climate crisis and sustainability. It includes addressing externalities associated with a company’s revenue not strictly measured in market mechanisms. Climate change and sustainability issues factor into investment choices in ways that seek to both maximize revenue and act ethically toward the environment, for example, through investment in renewables and other technologies. Social relates to social concerns and the imperative of a company to act in a socially responsible manner, including in its hiring process. Considerations can include human rights, diversity, consumer protection, and animal welfare, among others. Governance relates to rights and responsibilities in managing a company, relating to corporate ethical standards for the board, the shareholders, and the stakeholders. Examples can include issues such as management structure, employee relations and management, and employee compensation. Each company must decide who holds the responsibility for ESG within it. Usually, it will be the board of directors, often creating unique ESG positions and appointing ESG experts to ensure compliance with its commitments. In addition, it is becoming increasingly common for investors and stakeholders to request reporting on non-financial opportunities and risks. The Head of ESG ensures that reporting is also available for all the company’s externalities and non-financial activities. What is Driving ESG Growth? Companies are beginning to understand value in ways besides financial reporting. Especially among younger generations, the future shareholders and industry leaders, there is a strong imperative to support ESG companies over more traditional ones. Consumers are voting with their wallets. However, there still needs to be convergence between ESG and the company’s bottom line. While this can appear contradictory, incorporating ESG priorities into the corporate values and culture of the company can be complementary to the bottom line, especially today. Some of the benefits of implementing ESG initiatives are: Being seen as a thought leader in your industry, which today is unlikely without an ESG strategy Boosting the company’s social brand and reputation, both in your industry and without Building trust to increase engagement within the communities your business operates in Mitigating ESG risk exposure, e.g., by systematically detecting and assessing significant ESG risks inherent to specific business transactions Fostering a win-win mentality by encouraging more responsible business practices while growing the company’s bottom line in the longer term On the other hand, some of the risks of a wait-and-see approach to ESG are: Waiting too long may result in extra costs if potential regulatory reforms become mandated Not adapting could lead to a loss of competitive advantage, hurting sales and talent attraction and retention Not adjusting damages the company’s brand and reputation merely through the semblance of irrelevance ESG Drives Hiring There is no uniform approach to ESG. It can be industry, company, or issue-specific. Your company can decide which opportunities and risks to address and be measured against by getting ahead of any universal standards or federal mandates on the issue early. Having pre-existing ESG incorporation explicitly tailored to your company can help mitigate any externally mandated demands and costs later. Professional services network PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) is an example of a company that invested in ESG early. The result has been that PwC projects that it will expand its workforce by ⅓ over the next five years by hiring 100,000 new employees. PwC plans to seek experienced, qualified workers with a profound, active knowledge of ESG. Futureproofing Your Organization This year, U.S. law firms have begun aggressively building ESG practices into their company structures to anticipate new federal government initiatives and increasing interest from their clients. Law firms are retooling and positioning themselves to provide legal guidance to clients regarding ESG-compliance. A legal consultant can advise on how best to perform ESG reporting according to a company approach. A strong stance on ESG can help you attract the best new employees and retain the valuable ones you already have. Having a law firm on your side can help you smoothly transition to ESG compliance without unsettling your daily operations or upsetting your bottom line. How Collier Legal Staffing Can Help Collier Legal Search offers services in placing associates, partners, and legal professionals of the highest credentials at every level in corporations and law firms. With our extensive connections, experience, and exclusive approach, we have built a candidate database that delivers consistent results and on which our clients have come to depend. We commit ourselves to satisfied clients and successful candidates. If you are considering migrating your company into ESG compliance, discover what we can do for you.

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