Canadian Lawyer InHouse

7 canadianlawyermag.com/inhouse december 2014 Diversity metrics will influence what firms BMO's legal department does business with: Fish W hile some of the largest orga- nizations in Canada have es- tablished the business case for embracing diversity in the legal profession, some law firms still aren't buying into the importance of diversity and inclusion. On Sept. 30, the Bank of Montreal hosted a panel discussion featuring Canadian legal and business leaders from Dentons Canada LLP, Deloitte Canada, Xerox Corp., and NEI Investments. The discussion high- lighted tools and insight to increase work- place diversity and inclusion. The audience included managing partners of Canada's largest law firms that are also members of the Law Firm Diversity and Inclusion Network. In 2013, as part of an RFI process, BMO began asking the law firms it works with to advise if they collected diversity metrics and, if so, to disclose them to BMO. That year, 34 per cent of the firms who respond- ed, indicated that they did collect metrics and disclosed their numbers. In 2014, BMO followed up with a second request to the firms that they are working with. Ninety- seven per cent of those who responded in- dicated that they now collect metrics and disclosed those diversity metrics to BMO. BMO executive vice president and general counsel Simon Fish said that in the future, the metrics will influence who the legal group chooses to do business with. He added that the TD Bank Group has also committed to requesting metrics from the firms it deals with. "The banking industry is a major em- ployer of legal services in Canada and is in a position to move the needle in the corporate diversity space," said Fish. "Law firms have never before been challenged in this way. This initiative will be an evolution for the industry with the goal of making a difference in the way we do business with suppliers." Fish added, "This policy we're announc- ing will have traction. Firms who wish to do business with us now clearly understand that there is a bona fide opportunity to gain a competitive advantage over other compa- nies vying for our business, not just by com- plying with our request for diversity metrics but also in our assessment of their diversity performance relative to their peers." The bank hopes its diversity efforts will give law firms another reason to ensure their teams include people from different ethnic groups, members of the lesbian and gay community, those with different physical abilities, and a balance of men and women. Dorothy Quann, vice president and gen- eral counsel at Xerox Canada, told law firm lawyers in the audience it's important they make sure all of their lawyers understand that if they're members of the Law Firm Di- versity and Inclusion Network, they know it and understand what it represents. "When you look at what is happening with in-house departments, you will start noticing there is a lot of diversity and we're the buyers of the services," said Quann, who's also presi- dent of Legal Leaders for Diversity. "They are going to start noticing the re- quirements the banks have and you would hope that would start driving some meaning- ful engagement with the firms. Make sure the folks in your firm — associates and part- ners and managing partners — are aware of what [Legal Leaders for Diversity] is asking for and that you are all signatories to [the Law Firm Diversity and Inclusion Network]." She said the business model for diversity is clear thanks to organizations like BMO and noted firms must now realize what it means for their future. Dentons partner Kate Broer talked about the firm's diversity boot camp, something it created five years ago. "People understood there were organiza- tions like BMO asking us for diversity met- rics, but in order for that to resonate and connect the dots internally, we started this boot camp. It was designed to be a booster shot for anyone in the organization with hiring and firing and promotion respon- sibilities," says Broer, who's also the firm's Canada region co-chairwoman of diversity and inclusion. Every partner at Dentons has now been through the boot camp that addresses issues such as unconscious bias. "For a period of time, we actually banned the word 'fit' in the organization when we were talking about recruitment because we realized it had no tangible meaning. We have worked to redefine this concept of 'fit' at Dentons. In some respects, it can mean 'unfit,' understanding we are now trying to look for differences because we know it brings things like creativity and innovation and different perspectives are what we really need," she said. Broer said "a lot of skeptics come in the door" at the boot camp but lots go out the door "begging for more." "When we're having those critical dis- cussions around the partnership admission table, permission has been given to raise questions like: 'What do you mean that person has great potential? How come this other person doesn't have great potential?'" Even the most progressive organizations should be challenging their own notions of diversity and inclusion to make sure they're on track, said Sonya Kunkel, chief diversity officer and vice president for talent strate- gies at BMO. More than two years ago, BMO em- barked on a "major change effort" it now calls its "diversity renewal agenda." "We had long been a pioneer in diversity and in- clusion efforts, but there was a general sense we had plateaued a bit and perhaps even stalled in terms of our overall efforts," said A roundup of legal department news and trends news roundup > continued on page 8

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