The Power of GCs to Improve Equity

Despite improved awareness, the issue of gender inequity in law has not been satisfactorily addressed. It’s difficult to say precisely where the problem lies. What we do know is that General Counsel can be doing more to close the gender gap.

Burford Capital explains the findings in the Equity Project Study report that they commissioned to better understand the issues. What they found was that GCs have the means to turn a whole company toward closing the gender gap, and ensuring that equitable opportunity is the norm.

Firms with formal programs to measure diversity in the workplace are still in the minority. In fact, more than 75% of GCs reported that their companies did not have a diversity-forward policy. GCs can address this by requiring firms to provide data on diversity in hiring, partnerships, and other aspects of law. This sends a strong message that diversity is valued and vital to a firm’s bottom line.

In-house legal departments should only work with firms that are meeting expectations in terms of gender diversity. As Caren Ulrich Stacy, CEO of Diversity Lab explains, GCs are able to reward firms with diverse teams and refuse to work with those who don’t. Never underestimate the power of the carrot and the stick.

Asking about origination credits and their application is essential to GCs who are looking to support diversity efforts. As one managing lawyer asks, ‘Who gets the relationship credit in big firms?’ In some firms, it’s typical for a senior lawyer (almost always male) to retain credit for new cases they aren’t involved in, or clients they’ve never spoken to.

The Equity Project has set aside over $50MM in capital to finance commercial cases where litigation or arbitration is female-led, or for women-owned firms.