Top 10 Takeaways from My First Year as a Big Law Diversity and Inclusion Leader
“Diversity, equity, and inclusion work is a slow burn and long-term play, which requires patience, strategic focus, a solid foundation, the proper infrastructure, and leadership buy-in to be successful,” a diversity, equity, and inclusion (“DEI”) leader and one of my mentors told me before I started in my new role as the first full-time Director of Diversity and Inclusion at Blank Rome LLP, an Am Law 100 firm with 14 offices and an 1000+ employee workforce. Blank Rome was founded by two attorneys that were barred from practicing law at established law firms because of their religion who decided to venture out and create a firm where attorneys of all backgrounds could practice law and be the best attorney they could be. I was excited to join a firm with this foundation and to continue advancing DEI firmwide while “answering the call” for racial equity and social justice set out by our first and former Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer, Judge Nathaniel R. Jones, who was a civil rights trailblazer, a former chief legal spokesman for the civil rights movement, a federal appeals court judge who devoted his long career to eradicating the legacy of slavery, and the general counsel of the NAACP.
I started at the firm virtually in January 2021, not having met any of my colleagues in person before I started—a scenario that many people encountered if they started a new job during the pandemic. And, I was in good company. According to LinkedIn data, hiring of chief diversity and inclusion officers and senior leaders in the U.S. across industries exploded, growing by 111 percent in 2021. In relation, there was a major uptick in hiring and elevation of DEI leaders across the legal industry.
As a way to immerse myself in Blank Rome’s culture and build relationships across the firm, I went on a “look, listen, and learn” tour, meeting with close to 200 people across offices, practices, and functions in 90 days. Throughout the year, I had calls and meetings with DEI leaders across industries to share knowledge and brainstorm new ideas. I also received numerous calls about my new role and how I got started, which led me to start a journal to capture some of the highlights from my first year.
Below are my top five takeaways and top five highlights that I am sharing in hopes they are useful to new and existing DEI leaders alike. We have more work to do and look forward to continuous growth and positive change.
To read the full article, please click here.
“Top 10 Takeaways from My First Year as a Big Law Diversity and Inclusion Leader,” by Krystal Studavent Ramsey was published in Savoy Magazine for the “2022 Most Influential Black Lawyers”—The Legal Edition. Reprinted with permission.