The Place to Network

Diversity is a controversial topic ' the word itself is a lightning rod for discussion, inspiring and motivating some, irritating and offending others. While the subject of diversity is a divisive one, the message is loud and clear that the legal profession is taking it very seriously. Large prestigious law firms have shown their commitment by creating positions such as Director of Diversity, and by recruiting minority attorneys.

There is clearly a branding benefit to touting diversity. It certainly raises the image of the firm, and may get it through the RFP process. However, the question from a marketing standpoint is ' how can law firms use diversity to network successfully for business development? Clearly, because it involves a lot of psychology, culture, values and attitudes, diversity needs to be looked at from strategic, tactical and personal angles. For law firms to maximize their diversity potential for business development, first the firm needs to do an inventory of its diversity assets. Each firm will have a distinctive diversity makeup. The net message here is, if you've got it, flaunt it!

Diversity As a Marketing Strategy

Francisco Gonzalez is a Partner at Miami firm Adorno & Yoss, and is also Chair of the firm's marketing committee. Gonzalez says that diversity is much more than a lip-service-only program at Adorno. Instead, at their firm, diversity is at the core of its being, and is one of its most effective marketing strategies.

The firm's largest ethnic contingent is Hispanic, including Cuban-American, Mexican-American and South-American attorneys; Gonzalez himself was born in Venezuela. Most of the firm's associates and partners are bilingual in English and Spanish, which sets them apart from other large, national corporate defense firms, and helps them to attract high-profile cases that require Spanish proficiency. In addition to having 13 offices in the U.S., Adorno & Yoss has also cultivated international joint venture arrangements with firms in Mexico City, and Santiago, Chile, to broaden its reach even further.

Gonzalez says, 'New clients come to us because of the visibility that comes from our diversity. When you look at our firm's attorney composition, we actually can stake a real claim to diversity. A law firm can't become a minority or diverse firm overnight, no matter how diligent or idealistic its lawyers are.'

A Recruiting Advantage

Diversity has also become a significant recruiting advantage for Adorno in attracting lawyers who want to work at the firm. 'Minority lawyers want to join our team. In many cases, they have worked at firms that paraded them in front of the client to win business, but then they weren't chosen to actually work on the case.' Ambitious and talented minority lawyers (like all lawyers) don't want to be a show ponies ' they want to practice challenging law and work on exciting cases. At Adorno, they get to work on high-profile cases, so spots at the firm are highly desirable, says Gonzalez. When a new minority lawyer joins the firm, he or she usually brings a book of business into the firm, which exponentially expands the firm's networking and delivery capacity

What to Do

If your firm is mostly homogeneous, Caucasian or otherwise, that doesn't mean that it cannot mine its existing elements while you are trying to build greater diversity. For example, there are huge European, Asian, Middle-Eastern, and African immigrant populations constantly streaming into the U.S. Foreign companies often need an American law firm to help them with various legal issues that arise as they do business here, which creates interesting niches for networking.

As with the Adorno example, having lawyers with multiple language proficiencies can be a competitive advantage. Olivera Medenica, a Partner at Wahab & Medenica, LLP, New York, is an American attorney who is originally from Switzerland. In addition to English, Medenica also speaks French and Serbo-Croatian. This language versatility has led to interesting networking opportunities for her. For example, she recently appeared on a French television program, where she commented on her perception of French businesses.

For African-American attorneys, there are certain types of matters that present unique opportunities. Cheryl Blackwell Bryson, an African-American partner with Duane Morris' Chicago office, comments that 'Clients will turn to someone with a diverse background for particular situations. For example, I was brought in by the general counsel of a major financial institution that was facing race and gender discrimination charges from several employees. The management and employees knew that I could enter into the situation with a level of sensitivity to the situation.'

Bryson adds that there is an abundance of high-quality lawyers of all races, male and female. 'It's really more of a question of what a client's comfort level is. When opportunities arise, people will turn to whom they know and trust, regardless of color or gender.'

For networking, Bryson has found that working on political campaigns at the local, state and federal level has exposed her to many wonderful people who have proved helpful for business. networking.

As for all lawyers, networking is incredibly important for female attorneys. Bryson says that women are thought to have added sensitivity and may get some cases due to being female. However, perhaps more frequently, women suffer discrimination and are not given the plum cases. Women may try to network more proactively to make up for this perceived deficit, but unfortunately, many women are notoriously uncomfortable in promoting themselves.

Niche Networking

There are infinite other diversity angles that can lead to networking opportunities for your legal practice. As the United States becomes more and more heterogeneous, it's likely that the splintering and formation of niche networking groups will continue and expand. Many foreign countries have trade associations and chambers of commerce in American cities that thrive and host well-attended functions. Lawyers are identifying with their various identity groups, which can lead directly to establishing and building new relationships based on those attributes.

Personal traits that were once potential discrimination points can be converted into advantage. For example, if you are a gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender attorney, clients may be more comfortable with you for certain types of cases such as same-sex marriage, gay rights discrimination, adoption, family law and a host of others. You can establish trust and common ground with these clients and win their business for your firm. Perhaps your firm was originally founded by Irish immigrants and has a deep client base in the Irish-American community. Build on that heritage to expand your reach in that market, while at the same time looking for other complementary markets to tap.

Or maybe you're committed to environmental issues. There couldn't be a better time to meet other concerned citizens that may become clients. Ride the Al Gore wave of 'An Inconvenient Truth's' notoriety. Lots of fundraising and awareness events are taking place, attracting governmental leadership, Hollywood glitterati and corporate moguls. Attending charity events and sitting on non-profit boards has always been a great networking idea, and the added plus is that you are doing something you're passionate about at the same time.

If you are a parent, sit on your children's school board or PTA/HSA. Not only will your legal skills be immeasurably helpful to the school system, but you will also meet other parents who may become clients or refer you to their contacts.

Limitless Strategies

As you can see, there really is no limit to how you can use your own diversity to win new clients and become a rainmaker for the firm. The real keys are thinking creatively and capitalizing on what makes you and your firm unique. There's always more business out there ' and smart and innovative diversity strategies
are a proven route to uncover hot new opportunities to electrify your legal practice.

Christy Burke, a member of this newsletter's Board of Editors, is President of Burke & Company LLC (www.burke-company.com), a New York-based public relations and marketing firm that specializes in serving the legal and technology industries. In addition to providing communications consulting, Christy also organizes corporate retreats and professional development programs for companies large and small. She can be reached at 917-623-5096 or cburke@ burke-company.com.

Diversity is a controversial topic ' the word itself is a lightning rod for discussion, inspiring and motivating some, irritating and offending others. While the subject of diversity is a divisive one, the message is loud and clear that the legal profession is taking it very seriously. Large prestigious law firms have shown their commitment by creating positions such as Director of Diversity, and by recruiting minority attorneys.

There is clearly a branding benefit to touting diversity. It certainly raises the image of the firm, and may get it through the RFP process. However, the question from a marketing standpoint is ' how can law firms use diversity to network successfully for business development? Clearly, because it involves a lot of psychology, culture, values and attitudes, diversity needs to be looked at from strategic, tactical and personal angles. For law firms to maximize their diversity potential for business development, first the firm needs to do an inventory of its diversity assets. Each firm will have a distinctive diversity makeup. The net message here is, if you've got it, flaunt it!

Diversity As a Marketing Strategy

Francisco Gonzalez is a Partner at Miami firm Adorno & Yoss, and is also Chair of the firm's marketing committee. Gonzalez says that diversity is much more than a lip-service-only program at Adorno. Instead, at their firm, diversity is at the core of its being, and is one of its most effective marketing strategies.

The firm's largest ethnic contingent is Hispanic, including Cuban-American, Mexican-American and South-American attorneys; Gonzalez himself was born in Venezuela. Most of the firm's associates and partners are bilingual in English and Spanish, which sets them apart from other large, national corporate defense firms, and helps them to attract high-profile cases that require Spanish proficiency. In addition to having 13 offices in the U.S., Adorno & Yoss has also cultivated international joint venture arrangements with firms in Mexico City, and Santiago, Chile, to broaden its reach even further.

Gonzalez says, 'New clients come to us because of the visibility that comes from our diversity. When you look at our firm's attorney composition, we actually can stake a real claim to diversity. A law firm can't become a minority or diverse firm overnight, no matter how diligent or idealistic its lawyers are.'

A Recruiting Advantage

Diversity has also become a significant recruiting advantage for Adorno in attracting lawyers who want to work at the firm. 'Minority lawyers want to join our team. In many cases, they have worked at firms that paraded them in front of the client to win business, but then they weren't chosen to actually work on the case.' Ambitious and talented minority lawyers (like all lawyers) don't want to be a show ponies ' they want to practice challenging law and work on exciting cases. At Adorno, they get to work on high-profile cases, so spots at the firm are highly desirable, says Gonzalez. When a new minority lawyer joins the firm, he or she usually brings a book of business into the firm, which exponentially expands the firm's networking and delivery capacity

What to Do

If your firm is mostly homogeneous, Caucasian or otherwise, that doesn't mean that it cannot mine its existing elements while you are trying to build greater diversity. For example, there are huge European, Asian, Middle-Eastern, and African immigrant populations constantly streaming into the U.S. Foreign companies often need an American law firm to help them with various legal issues that arise as they do business here, which creates interesting niches for networking.

As with the Adorno example, having lawyers with multiple language proficiencies can be a competitive advantage. Olivera Medenica, a Partner at Wahab & Medenica, LLP, New York, is an American attorney who is originally from Switzerland. In addition to English, Medenica also speaks French and Serbo-Croatian. This language versatility has led to interesting networking opportunities for her. For example, she recently appeared on a French television program, where she commented on her perception of French businesses.

For African-American attorneys, there are certain types of matters that present unique opportunities. Cheryl Blackwell Bryson, an African-American partner with Duane Morris' Chicago office, comments that 'Clients will turn to someone with a diverse background for particular situations. For example, I was brought in by the general counsel of a major financial institution that was facing race and gender discrimination charges from several employees. The management and employees knew that I could enter into the situation with a level of sensitivity to the situation.'

Bryson adds that there is an abundance of high-quality lawyers of all races, male and female. 'It's really more of a question of what a client's comfort level is. When opportunities arise, people will turn to whom they know and trust, regardless of color or gender.'

For networking, Bryson has found that working on political campaigns at the local, state and federal level has exposed her to many wonderful people who have proved helpful for business. networking.

As for all lawyers, networking is incredibly important for female attorneys. Bryson says that women are thought to have added sensitivity and may get some cases due to being female. However, perhaps more frequently, women suffer discrimination and are not given the plum cases. Women may try to network more proactively to make up for this perceived deficit, but unfortunately, many women are notoriously uncomfortable in promoting themselves.

Niche Networking

There are infinite other diversity angles that can lead to networking opportunities for your legal practice. As the United States becomes more and more heterogeneous, it's likely that the splintering and formation of niche networking groups will continue and expand. Many foreign countries have trade associations and chambers of commerce in American cities that thrive and host well-attended functions. Lawyers are identifying with their various identity groups, which can lead directly to establishing and building new relationships based on those attributes.

Personal traits that were once potential discrimination points can be converted into advantage. For example, if you are a gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender attorney, clients may be more comfortable with you for certain types of cases such as same-sex marriage, gay rights discrimination, adoption, family law and a host of others. You can establish trust and common ground with these clients and win their business for your firm. Perhaps your firm was originally founded by Irish immigrants and has a deep client base in the Irish-American community. Build on that heritage to expand your reach in that market, while at the same time looking for other complementary markets to tap.

Or maybe you're committed to environmental issues. There couldn't be a better time to meet other concerned citizens that may become clients. Ride the Al Gore wave of 'An Inconvenient Truth's' notoriety. Lots of fundraising and awareness events are taking place, attracting governmental leadership, Hollywood glitterati and corporate moguls. Attending charity events and sitting on non-profit boards has always been a great networking idea, and the added plus is that you are doing something you're passionate about at the same time.

If you are a parent, sit on your children's school board or PTA/HSA. Not only will your legal skills be immeasurably helpful to the school system, but you will also meet other parents who may become clients or refer you to their contacts.

Limitless Strategies

As you can see, there really is no limit to how you can use your own diversity to win new clients and become a rainmaker for the firm. The real keys are thinking creatively and capitalizing on what makes you and your firm unique. There's always more business out there ' and smart and innovative diversity strategies
are a proven route to uncover hot new opportunities to electrify your legal practice.

Christy Burke, a member of this newsletter's Board of Editors, is President of Burke & Company LLC (www.burke-company.com), a New York-based public relations and marketing firm that specializes in serving the legal and technology industries. In addition to providing communications consulting, Christy also organizes corporate retreats and professional development programs for companies large and small. She can be reached at 917-623-5096 or cburke@ burke-company.com.