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12 October 2021Influential Women in IPMuireann Bolger

Elite GCs embrace new D&I ‘scorecard’ for law firms

The Minority Corporate Counsel Association (MCCA) has unveiled a new measurement tool or “scorecard” for general counsel to assess the diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) progress of the law firms they hire.

Leading companies including Microsoft, Nokia, Visa, Nike, Mastercard, General Motors, Bristol Myers Squibb and Macy’s have pledged to adopt the scorecard.

As part of the commitment, signatories ask their law firms to provide their MCCA scorecard, which is then used as a metric to evaluate how firms are progressing in their DEI efforts.

In addition, signatories agree that this is the first step in establishing a benchmark to better understand minimum standards to evaluate law firms’ DEI efforts.

“This scorecard is three years in the making, and I thank the more than 200 law firms that transparently shared their data with us, many for over a decade,” said Jean Lee, president and CEO of the MCCA.

“Knowledge is power, and this tool provides us with the data to understand each firm’s journey on diversity, culture, and equity—which is the first step to speeding up that journey. Ultimately, that’s how our profession advances: not through soaring rhetoric or empty promises, but through accountability and concrete action,” added Lee.

According to the MCCA, it has developed the scorecard in response to years of requests from general counsel for a transparent industry benchmark to assess DEI metrics, develop actionable policies, and to drive competitive advantage.

It also relies on 14 years of data from the MCCA’s annual law firm diversity survey and was developed in consultation with many leading general counsel and law firms, the MCCA said.

Anne Robinson, managing director, general counsel and corporate secretary of vanguard and board member at the MCCA said: “The scorecard has the potential to redefine diversity in the legal profession, by setting measurable industry benchmarks for firms of all sizes—and letting anybody, anywhere compare firms before making their hiring decisions. It’s a huge benefit for law firms and companies alike, and we at Vanguard are proud to affirm it as the industry standard.”

The scorecard applies a methodology that is made up of data collected and reviewed for accuracy by a third party through MCCA’s annual survey.

Through this process, the scorecard assesses law firms in four key categories: demographics, recruitment, retention/attrition, and promotion for women and diverse groups, particularly those from underrepresented racial and ethnic backgrounds. The scorecard measures quantitative data on the number of attorneys from all backgrounds at each firm and allows firms to benchmark their personal progress against that of similar-sized firms and the overall industry.

“This marks an inflection point for our profession,” said Wanji Walcott, executive vice president, chief legal officer and general counsel at Discover Financial Services and MCCA’s board chair.

“As the general counsel of a Fortune 500 company, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve hoped for an industry standard to measure my outside counsels’ diversity efforts. MCCA’s scorecard is that standard and meets the moment in this new era of investor focus on ESG goals. As clients, we have an opportunity—and a responsibility—to use this tool to demand diversity from those that want our business.”

All participating law firms are invited to learn more about the Scorecard, ask questions, and develop strategies to strengthen their scores over time by visiting www.mccascorecard.com.

The scorecard precedes the October 2021 release of MCCA’s law firm diversity database, an online tool that will allow firms to measure their performance against industry-wide benchmarks, as well as the 18th edition of MCCA’s law firm diversity survey report.

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