32 ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS – MARCH 2024 WWW.LEGALBUSINESSONLINE.COM ROUNDTABLE employees that the company values their differences and is invested in creating an inclusive culture. In Asia, where Cooley has four offices and serves clients regionwide, our commitment to DEI has helped inform our programming. As an example, I am proud to say we are leading the way in the employee benefits space in support of women and LGBTQ+ employees through our market-leading parental leave policies, as well as the inclusion of in vitro fertilisation (IVF) coverage in our benefits packages. ANDREWS: The creation of the Mewburn CDO role came early in our journey. It was borne out of a realisation that delivery of I&D as a strategic objective required effective leadership to drive and focus our efforts. That has proven to be the case. We wouldn’t have been able to make our progress without a CDO. One of the main advantages of having a CDO is more effective delivery of I&D strategy. This, in turn, leads to business benefits such as improved talent attraction/retention, and a greater ability to connect with high-value clients. RICHARDS-YELLEN: Many clients see DEI as an imperative both internally and as an important factor in evaluating their vendors and partners. Importantly, current and prospective talent also take an interest. In terms of value-add at the most basic level, CDOs often have a unique vantage point and orientation, as they are executives with a broad range of talents who have navigated unique challenges and managed risk. Some law firm CDOs are lawyers and have played significant roles in thought leadership. Simply put, firms that utilise the skills and perspectives of CDOs are more likely to have a stronger “C-suite” than firms without CDOs. Beyond the leadership bench, one of the primary missions for CDOs is to use their talents and market insight to position their firm to be a strong competitor and to differentiate the firm’s brand. Firms with CDOs are more willing to challenge external market perception. These firms acknowledge that change often provides new opportunities. The leaders of these firms, in my experience, understand that involving a broader group in building and reinforcing culture and goals makes a firm stronger. In sum, clients should prefer firms with CDOs because it’s likely that those firms will have stronger leadership, effective training processes, and a higher talent retention rate. ALB: What do you think is the most effective strategy to build or improve law firms’ DEI awareness? At the same time, what are some of the biggest stumbling blocks during the process, and how are you planning to address those? BATTS: DEI awareness is an evolutionary journey that requires commitment and a willingness to learn and adapt over time. Strategies include: i) Leadership buy-in and employee engagement: This can encompass internal affinity groups, reliable feedback processes, and transparency and communication at all levels. In Asia, our employees are highly engaged with our DEI initiatives, particularly through our affinity groups, annual DEI training programs and the robust feedback systems we have in place. ii) Development efforts (including training programs): For example, as part of Cooley’s efforts to create a more inclusive workplace, our Hong Kong office in 2023 launched a series of training workshops on period positivity and menstrual health education in collaboration with LUÜNA, a company that aims to destigmatise conversations around menstruation. iii) Evaluating and implementing inclusive policies and practices: A regional example is when we launched Pink Friday across our Asia offices in 2022. Employees wore pink T-shirts to the office to show their support and raise awareness of LGBTQ+ and inclusivity-related issues. This event has now taken off in our other global locations, too. iv) Data and metrics analysis: At Cooley, we set specific metrics to articulate and deliver on our DEI commitments. As part of our firmwide DEI action plan, we aim to achieve a range of metrics by 2026. These include increasing the percentage of women in the partnership to at least 35 percent, growing the proportion of ethnic, racial and LGBTQ+ diversity among all lawyers to at least 32 percent, and increasing the percentage of ethnic, racial and LGBTQ+ diversity among all managers and directors to at least 37 percent. I think companies face stumbling blocks when they don’t have a clear strategy and are drawn into the broader distractions around DEI that sometimes occur. This can lead to work that’s reactive, rather than proactive. Firms should address this by developing clearly defined DEI goals, while also being flexible and having the ability to adapt when necessary. ANDREWS: The most effective strategy for improving DEI depends on a firm’s current position: existing business culture, markets it operates in, etc. There isn’t a ‘one size fits all’ strategy. That said, there is a set of shared actions that can help individual law firms develop a strategy that works for them. Firstly, a firm needs to make a real commitment to I&D. That means the firm’s management undertaking to make I&D part of how the firm operates, as opposed to approaching I&D piecemeal. This is key because I&D involves cultural change, which is difficult, daunting, and outside the comfort zone of most law firm managers. Without real commitment at the very top, it’s unlikely to happen. Secondly, a firm needs to ask open questions and – crucially – listen to the answers to your colleagues, to your clients, to expert advisors. That’s likely to be a challenging process, eliciting feedback that may be uncomfortable reading. Taken constructively, though, that feedback is the raw material from which a firm can shape an I&D strategy that is right for them. As to stumbling blocks, one of the biggest is – ironically – diversity. That is, the diversity of opinions that exists in almost every group of people, including the stakeholders of law firms. The challenge of managing that diversity
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