By Sarosha Parsons and Samantha Varghese, Client Care Coordinators

June commemorates diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) with the celebration of Pride Month and Juneteenth. In keeping with this month’s emphasis on DEI, this installment of the Client Care Corner focuses on DEI’s growing importance within the legal sector.

In the last few years, clients of all sizes have made a conscious effort to increase diversity within their organizations and have implemented policies and practices with their outside vendors to create more opportunities for historically underrepresented groups.

Our clients recognize the value in working with and employing diverse individuals. Dan Pulka, Chief Client Care Officer at Troutman Pepper, has seen this firsthand. “Diverse teams have diverse viewpoints, which often lead to better results,” Dan said. “This is one of the many reasons clients are asking for more diverse teams to work on their matters – it makes good business sense.”

When conducting client feedback interviews, we often ask clients about the DEI metrics, initiatives, and firm behaviors that are most important to them. We also are having an increasing number of meetings with clients to discuss how we can partner with them on DEI efforts. Below are some common DEI themes and takeaways we have gathered from client feedback.

Meeting DEI Benchmarks and Metrics

As a starting point, many clients look to see whether their outside counsel are meeting DEI-related benchmarks, including certain DEI rankings issued by third-party organizations. One of these is Mansfield Rule Certification, a program run by the Diversity Lab. Troutman Pepper is Mansfield 4.0 Certified Plus, which indicates that, in addition to meeting baseline certification requirements related to senior lateral positions, partner promotions, formal pitches, and leadership and governance roles, the firm has successfully reached at least 30% minority lawyer representation in a number of its current leadership roles.

Similarly, the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Corporate Equality Index (CEI) is a national benchmarking tool for corporate policies related to the LGBTQ+ community. Troutman Pepper has received a perfect score in the CEI for the last 14 years. Although these benchmarks are a good way to establish baseline expectations related to DEI, we are increasingly seeing clients ask for more from their outside counsel.

Meaningfully Engaging Diverse Attorneys

Beyond simply hiring diverse attorneys, law firms must offer true opportunity. It is not enough to include diverse attorneys in a pitch or to add diverse members to a team. These individuals must have significant opportunities to contribute and must be given the tools and resources to succeed.

Clients want to work with diverse teams at all levels — including paralegals, associates, and partners — and we find that clients are often willing and eager to work with outside counsel to provide opportunities to diverse team members. One example of this is the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity’s 1L LCLD Scholars Program, where diverse summer associates spend time with both an in-house legal team and with a participating law firm. Troutman Pepper participates in the program each year, and we have seen an enthusiastic response from clients wanting to work with us to host these talented young attorneys.

Creating an Inclusive and Equitable Space

The “E” in “DEI” stands for equity, but what does equity actually mean? Equity means examining the fairness of the policies and practices of the institution and eliminating barriers that may prevent equal treatment, access, and opportunities for all. We all show up with differences due to background, exposure, opportunities, networks, and more. Clients have told us that they want the firms they work with to focus on equity in addition to diversity because it demonstrates a firm’s understanding of workplace disparities and the desire to eliminate them.

To encourage equity, firms should first acknowledge where inequities may exist and seek to address them in a manner that supports each employee’s individual success. Troutman Pepper did this by conducting a firmwide DEI assessment to uncover gaps, strengths, and barriers related to equity and inclusion; develop responsive strategies related to hiring, retaining, developing, and promoting diverse attorneys; and enhance our inclusive culture.

The third piece of DEI is inclusion. Inclusion ensures all opinions and voices are heard, acknowledged, and valued. Clients frequently stress the importance of inclusion, as including diverse voices leads to more creative ideas and better results. To make progress toward inclusion, firms must create environments where diverse backgrounds are acknowledged and celebrated, and where individuals are empowered to bring their authentic selves to work every day.

Meet Sarosha Parsons
In her role as Client Care Coordinator, Sarosha uses her legal marketing background to provide value to clients, develop creative and innovative solutions to clients’ needs, and ensure all clients receive consistently excellent service. Sarosha graduated cum laude from Franklin and Marshall College with a bachelor’s degree in government and Spanish.

Meet Samantha Varghese
Samantha is a former Client Care Coordinator at Troutman Pepper. She understands and appreciates the value and impact of client care and hopes to display that in all her work product. Samantha graduated cum laude from the University of Georgia with a bachelor’s degree in advertising and a certificate in entrepreneurship.

NEW YORK – Troutman Pepper has been named among the top 10 most innovative law firms in North America by the Financial Times in the publication’s annual rankings report. Troutman Pepper ranks 7th (tied) in the business of law category for its overall approach to innovation.

The FT Innovative Lawyers North America 2021 report is produced by the Financial Times and its research partner RSGI. Law firms and in-house teams were invited to make submissions which were then scored. The business of law innovation list was created based on each firm’s aggregated scores for its top three submissions across the following categories: change makers, data analytics, diversity and inclusion, innovative leaders, new solutions and people and skills. Troutman Pepper’s score for its use of data and technology was also considered.

Troutman Pepper is focused on executing innovative solutions that help attorneys work more efficiently and better serve clients. Earlier this month, the firm received the Legal Services Innovation Award from The American Lawyer for its development and implementation of Engage, an AI-backed platform that finds the right attorney for the matter based on skill sets and experience, leveling the assignment playing field.

In July, the firm was recognized by The Legal Intelligencer with a Law Firm Innovator award, which honors law firms that push the envelope to build their businesses, think outside the box, and have distinguished their brands in a crowded market. Troutman Pepper eMerge also was named a top national eDiscovery provider in the Daily Report’s “2021 Best of” report.

About Troutman Pepper
Troutman Pepper is a national law firm with more than 1,200 attorneys strategically located in 23 U.S. cities. The firm’s litigation, transactional, and regulatory practices advise a diverse client base, from start-ups to multinational enterprises. The firm provides sophisticated legal solutions to clients’ most pressing business challenges, with depth across industry sectors, including construction, energy, finance, health sciences, insurance, private equity, real estate, and technology, among others. Learn more at troutman.com.

NEW YORK – Troutman Pepper has received the Legal Services Innovation Award from The American Lawyer for its development and implementation of Engage, an AI-backed platform that finds the right attorney for the matter based on skill sets and experience, leveling the assignment playing field. The American Lawyer Industry Awards program honors the most exceptional lawyers, law firms, legal departments, and organizations in the country.

In collaboration with stakeholders across the firm, Troutman Pepper’s Innovation Team built the Engage platform, which uses AI to simplify the challenges of workload allocation and capacity planning. The platform helps the firm assign work more efficiently and equitably to attorneys, so that clients ultimately receive the best service.

“We are honored to receive this national recognition for the firm’s efforts to embrace innovation in a way that importantly benefits both our people and our clients,” said Troutman Pepper Chief Innovation Officer Will Gaus. “This tool has proven particularly important for us given the unique challenges presented by the pandemic and merger integration efforts.”

Troutman Pepper was honored during the fourth annual American Lawyer Industry Awards, held Dec. 2 in New York. In attendance and accepting the award on the firm’s behalf were Will Gaus, Andrew Medeiros, Steve Peltier, Dan Pulka, Erin Murphy, Tiffany Southerland, Diane Iselin, and Jason Lichter.

Troutman Pepper is focused on executing innovative solutions that help attorneys work more efficiently and better serve clients. Earlier this year, the firm was recognized by The Legal Intelligencer with a Law Firm Innovator award, which honors law firms that push the envelope to build their businesses, think outside the box, and have distinguished their brands in a crowded market. Troutman Pepper eMerge also was named a top national eDiscovery provider in the Daily Report’s “2021 Best of” report.

About Troutman Pepper
Troutman Pepper is a national law firm with more than 1,200 attorneys strategically located in 23 U.S. cities. The firm’s litigation, transactional, and regulatory practices advise a diverse client base, from start-ups to multinational enterprises. The firm provides sophisticated legal solutions to clients’ most pressing business challenges, with depth across industry sectors, including construction, energy, finance, health sciences, insurance, private equity, real estate, and technology, among others. Learn more at troutman.com.