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T
his August, the business law
section of the American
Bar Association hosted a
Continuing Legal Education
(CLE) program entitled ‘Successful
Strategies to Achieve Diversity in
Your Organization.’ It was a two-hour,
substantive-credit course being offered
by one of the most prestigious sections
of the American Bar Association.
When Carl Cooper was appointed
the first chief diversity officer (CDO)
at a major law firm in February 2003,
diversity was not a credited CLE course
anywhere in the US, and it was generally
presented as a noon-time lunch speech
over chicken and chocolate mousse.
Today, diversity is a hot topic.
More law firms are coming to the
realization that it is simply not enough
to talk about having a diverse workforce.
Instead, they must proactively develop
a structured program that enables
the appropriate measurement of data
and metrics associated with diversity
statistics. It is a well-known fact
that large corporate firms have not
traditionally been a repository for
minorities, women, or people who
maintain alternative lifestyles. In order
to break down the barriers of the
traditional law-firm environment, it is
necessary for firms to create programs
intended to embrace and retain diversity
in all of its variations.
Our firm, Kirkpatrick
& Lockhart Nicholson
Graham LLP (K&LNG),
began its diversity drive
in 1998, to accomplish
numerous firm-wide
objectives. Within this
article, we provide an
overview of the rationale for
embarking on a diversity program,
a discussion of the strategic
development of K&LNG’s
initiative, and an analysis of the
various marketing strategies that
were employed to ensure the
ongoing success of the program.
It is important to note that in our
view, any marketing campaign
Case study: Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Nicholson Graham LLP
Case study: Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Nicholson Graham LLP
Differentiation
through diversity
The role of marketing in promoting diversity at international firm
Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Nicholson Graham LLP.
By Jeffrey J. Berardi and Carl G. Cooper
to externally promote diversity for
differentiation purposes should
naturally follow the internal creation
and development of a sustainable
diversity program.
Creating a rationale
First, we should consider the rationale
for starting a diversity program at your
firm. Today, most firms recognize
the importance of
maintaining a
workplace that creates opportunities
for diverse groups of people. Although
it sounds like a simple plan, the effort
of cultivating and nurturing a disparate
set of individuals within a firm requires
a dedicated effort on the behalf of
the entire management team. Rarely
does diversity
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Case study: Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Nicholson Graham LLP
within an organization occur in an
organic manner, and the firm’s good
intentions regarding its promotion will
often be insufficient to fulfill long-term
goals. Thus, actually creating a diversity
plan for measurement and tracking
purposes is a mandatory step for any
or other issues. Next, diversity creates
broader opportunity in terms of the
workforce, staff turnover is reduced,
and the result is that you are left
with a richer pool of resources to
choose from. A diversity program also
increases the self-image of the firm
More law firms are coming to the realization that it is
simply not enough to talk about having a diverse workforce.
Instead, they must proactively develop a structured
program that enables the appropriate measurement of
data and metrics associated with diversity statistics.
firm that really wants to follow-through
on its defined goals to attract and grow
a more heterogeneous organization.
Furthermore, in addition to the
social responsibilities to consider for
implementing a diversity program, we
should also think about the increasing
number of clients who demand that
this is a priority at the firms they select.
It is clear that our clients have their
own diversity issues that they face in
their internal organizational structures,
and often these clients also have a
high level of expectation that their
primary law firms share their diversity
values. From a marketing standpoint,
we find more and more request-forproposals (RFPs) that specifically ask
for background regarding our firm’s
diversity efforts. In fact, clients are
beginning to request statistics or figures
relating to our program, which confirms
the idea that simply having a program
is not enough. Those firms that do not
comply with clients’ expectations may
find themselves sitting on the sidelines,
rather than competing directly with
other firms for business.
There are other economic factors
that make having a diverse workforce
more attractive to firms. For example,
a firm that consists of a diverse group
of people may be less likely to find
itself involved in litigation alleging
discrimination based on gender, race,
from an internal standpoint, improves
motivation of staff, and enables the
public to see your firm in a different,
and better, light. For all of these
reasons and more, a diversity program
makes good economic sense.
Getting started
In 1998, K&LNG hired a consulting
firm, Springborg & Associates, to
come in and do both a diversity audit
and a training program for the firm. It
recommended several steps we should
take to enhance our workforce and
increase our commitment to diversity.
For the next five years, the firm
nurtured and developed its efforts to
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was going to be fully integrated into
every aspect of the firm’s culture.
This resulted in the creation and
launch of K&LNG’s diversity initiative,
beginning with the creation of the
country’s first CDO position. The
role was intended not only to operate
at the management level internally, but
also to act as a change agent for the
entire legal profession.
K&LNG felt that it was imperative
to create a focused program to ensure
that we were taking the necessary
steps to foster a work environment
that acquires, promotes and maintains
diversity across the firm. The primary
objectives of the K&LNG diversity
initiative were threefold. First, we
sought to expand recruiting activities
to bolster the number of minorities,
women, and gay and lesbian lawyers.
Second, we developed a firm-wide
mentoring program, which included
gender and race-specific innovations to
enhance retention of these two groups.
Third, we sought to promote K&LNG
among minority constituencies, as well
as promoting awareness of our diversity
initiatives to the entire community.
In any firm, the first two objectives
need to be promoted using a top-down
management approach. Without a clear
directive from the managing partner,
noting the importance of the diversity
initiative, it will be difficult to justify the
From a marketing standpoint, we find more and more
request-for-proposals that specifically ask for background
regarding our firm’s diversity efforts. In fact, clients are
beginning to request statistics or figures relating to our
program, which confirms the idea that simply having a
program is not enough.
the point where, in early 2003, chairman
and managing partner Peter Kalis,
along with the management committee,
determined that rather than having
another standalone program, diversity
necessary investment of time, resources
and money that a well-planned program
requires. The CDO is secondary voice
of the diversity initiative to the outside,
as well as internal, community. Peter
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Kalis constantly incorporates his
vision of diversity at the firm in every
presentation and policy undertaken
by the firm. At every firm retreat,
management meeting and during
formal or informal communications,
he never fails to conspicuously include
Case study: Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Nicholson Graham LLP
In order to get the most recognition
for the formal implementation of our
program, we decided to launch the
announcement of Carl Cooper’s arrival
on Martin Luther King Day, January 10,
2003. This timing strategy was critical
because the message we were sending
was well defined and targeted prior
to launch. For example, we focused
on diversity publications, we called
journalists who wrote on diversity
topics and issues, and we took care to
make sure we were hitting all the major
local, regional and international outlets.
Maintaining momentum
K&LNG’s message was fairly simple in nature – namely,
that diversity is a core value of the firm, and the creation
of the firm-wide program reflects our commitment to this
value. This message was conveyed in the form of a mission
statement, written by Peter Kalis, which was attached to
the press release itself.
diversity as an essential element of
his objectives for the firm. Given that
type of leadership, the CDO often
merely reflects management’s desire
for an inclusive workforce, which in
turn symbolizes an integral aspect of
the quality of representation that our
clients expect.
However, it is the third objective,
promotion of the initiative, which we
will discuss in more detail, because this
is the primary area where the marketing
department can be utilized to create
programs that spread the word to
various key groups in targeted business
or regional communities. A firm needs
to have the building blocks of the first
two objectives well in place before
it can logically promote its diversity
program as a differentiating factor.
From a marketing perspective,
one of the strongest ways to spread
the word about your established
diversity program is through a strategic,
well-timed, and well-executed publicrelations strategy.
Spreading the word
Our firm used a distinct timing strategy
to distribute information about the
initiative. For example, we created
an internal diversity program well in
advance of any external promotion.
to local, national and international
media contacts fitted extremely well
with the holiday itself, a day dedicated
to honoring a man who selflessly
dedicated his life to ensuring the equal
treatment of all men and women,
regardless of race. K&LNG’s message
was fairly simple in nature – namely,
that diversity is a core value of the
firm, and the creation of the firm-wide
program reflects our commitment to
this value. This message was conveyed
in the form of a mission statement,
written by Peter Kalis, which was
attached to the press release itself.
One of the additional benefits
of the K&LNG program is that
K&LNG promotes the initiative
through a combination of electronic
newsletters, sponsorships and brochure
mailings. These efforts enable the firm
to maintain momentum both internally
and within the business community.
They also serve to ensure that our
program is kept current and fresh.
For example, we publish a regular
diversity newsletter, which is sent out
electronically to contacts and clients.
In addition to this, we have published
a booklet of information, ‘Diversity at
K&LNG: A Report to Our Clients’,
which is distributed to in-house counsel
and clients across the US and UK.
The firm constantly looks for
ways to support organizations that are
aligned with our own goals to grow
diversity. We have been the sole sponsor
of the James M. Nabrit lecture series
at Howard University School of Law
for the past three years. This prominent
series was initiated in honor of James
M. Nabrit, Jr., former president of
Howard University and former dean of
its law school. We are annual sponsors
of the Charting Your Own Course
One of the additional benefits of the K&LNG program is
that it also helped to increase overall diversity awareness
within the business community at large.
it also helped to increase overall
diversity awareness within the business
community at large, and our ongoing
efforts in this area continue to achieve
that goal.
In contrast to a ‘scattershot’
approach, our public-relations strategy
(CYOC) corporate career conference,
and we send K&LNG lawyers to
this conference every year. CYOC
was founded by a small group of
minority in-house corporate
counsel who sought to address the
unmet career development needs of
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Case study: Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Nicholson Graham LLP
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Without setting goals, benchmarks and deliverables, it will
be difficult for your firm to track the success of a diversity
program. There is always room for improvement and it
is never too late to begin formal efforts to increase the
number of diverse professionals within your firm.
minority lawyers. K&LNG is also a
major sponsor of the annual event
held by Corporate Counsel Women
of Color (CCWC). Formed in 2004,
CCWC is a not-for-profit organization
of female attorneys of color who serve
as general counsel, assistant general
counsel, corporate counsel, and in other
capacities for various companies in the
US and overseas.
Demonstrating improvement
Without setting goals, benchmarks and
deliverables, it will be difficult for your
firm to track the success of a diversity
program. There is always room for
improvement and it is never too late
to begin formal efforts to increase the
number of diverse professionals within
your firm.
At K&LNG, we have taken strides
to set and track metrics for internal
purposes, so that we can understand
which aspects are strong and which
represent areas for development. Since
the CDO took office, the number of
minority lawyers in the firm (as defined
by the National Association of Law
Placement) has grown from 67 to 104
(as of February 2006). The number of
minority partners has grown from five
to 18; the number of women lawyers
has grown from 208 to 261; and the
number of women partners has grown
from 29 to 46 within that same time
period. These numbers outpace the
overall growth of the firm during that
time frame. Furthermore, almost onethird of the firm’s 2005 fall associate
class was of a minority status and
nearly half were women. We have also
been recognized in the media – Diversity
& The Bar magazine noted K&LNG
as one of four firms in the US, which
is: “… stepping outside the norm,
displaying an unprecedented level of
commitment and new strategies for
achieving diversity.”
Changes beyond our own internal
efforts have also taken place in the
market. Three years after the initiative
was created, a group called the
Association of Law Firm Diversity
Professionals, composed of over 30
full-time diversity directors, managers
and officers, is about to be launched.
More firms every month are hiring and
marketing for diversity officers and
professionals from across the country
and in the UK. In just over three years,
diversity has become a core value, an
essential addition to both large and
small firms everywhere. To distinguish
diversity from programs that had
gone on before, practitioners noted
that unlike affirmative action, which
was reactive, diversity was proactive.
Whereas in the past it focused primarily
on recruitment; it is currently seen
more as a tool for retention and
mentoring, relationship building,
and community outreach.
At K&LNG, we strive to promote,
acquire and maintain diversity because
we have a responsibility to lead our
profession in the right direction in the
21st century. We know diversity is not
an end in itself, but a means to an end.
Our marketing efforts have built
upon and maintained the foundation
of a sustainable diversity program,
and we have achieved the additional
benefit of increasing diversity awareness
within the greater business and legal
community. The results of our ongoing
program will ultimately be measured by
a more inclusive workforce, from the
bottom-up and from the top-down, and
as Peter Kalis often comments, we are
determined to stay the course, for our
clients’ sake, for our own good, and for
the benefit of the profession.
Jeffrey Berardi is acting chief marketing officer
and Carl Cooper is chief diversity officer at
the Boston office of Kirkpatrick and Lockhart
Nicholson Graham LLP. They can be
contacted at jberadi@klng.com and
ccooper@klng.com respectively.
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