Canadian Lawyer InHouse

SEPTEMBER 2017 24 INHOUSE F ernando Garcia lives and breathes the importance of promoting diversity ev- ery day and sees it as a competitive advan- tage and way to add value across his team, company and legal community. As general counsel, government affairs and corporate secretary at Nissan in Can - ada, Garcia is an advocate of diversity and inclusion in ways that not only benefit his company but future lawyers, too. At Nissan, diversity is a "source of strength and integral" to its corporate strategy. Diver - sity is enshrined in the company's corporate policy as one of the primary pillars of the "Nissan Way," the values that guide all em- ployees in the way they do business and the way they approach their day-to-day interac- tion with the community and with fellow employees. This is evident in the Nissan Way message that states: "Diversity is OUR ad- vantage, Diversity is MY advantage." The legal department is in many ways seen and treated as the leaders and cheer- leaders for diversity within Canada. "His commitment to his lead role in the company's legal team is matched only by his com- mitment to diversity and inclusion, both within the corporate fabric of Nissan and in the community generally," said Helen Fotinos of McCarthy Tétrault LLP, who nominated Garcia for the award. When selecting firms to provide services for Nissan Canada, diversity is an impor - tant consideration for making decisions. Law firms are required to demonstrate and provide examples of what they are doing to support diversity initiatives. "In RFPs, when I'm looking for a new service provider, one of the first questions I ask is what are you doing in terms of diver - sity and inclusiveness — give us examples, give us numbers and documentation to show what you're doing," Garcia says. Garcia is a firm believer in leading by example and that change starts at the top. He also sees technology, including artificial intelligence and Big Data, as a way forward to promote diversity even further. This past year, he became involved in looking at the marriage of law and technology and the positive impact it can have in inclusion and diversity within the legal profession. By fil - tering success rates of litigation lawyers, it helps eliminate the "the old boys club" men- tality of lawyer selection for matters. Garcia is recognized company-wide as a champion in the advancement of diversity. Jeffrey Webster, Nissan's director of diver- sity and inclusion, remarked, "Fernando brings a wealth of experience and passion to the Americas Diversity Council and is instrumental in shaping diversity and inclu- sion programs/initiatives throughout the North American region. Fernando leads by example and has positively impacted Nis- san's corporate culture. We are proud of his many accomplishments and value his dedi- cation to promoting diversity and inclusion both internally at Nissan and externally in the community." Garcia's work on the Corporate Coun - sel Advisory Board for the Law Society of Upper Canada's Law Practice Program has translated into work opportunities for a number of young lawyers in Ontario from diverse backgrounds and foreign-trained students by providing the opportunity to be considered for and obtain practical and hands-on Canadian legal experience at Nis - san. Garcia also takes his commitment to diversity and his unique perspective conti- nent-wide as one of two Canadian members of the Nissan North American Executive Diversity Council, which includes the most senior executives from Nissan North Amer- ica. This role saw him transform the legal department's culture at Nissan Canada, where diversity and inclusion were inte- grated as specific mandates into the team's practice, encouraging meaningful relation- ships internally, externally and with the community at large. Under Garcia's guidance, the legal team at Nissan has seen tangible changes in the way they interact among themselves and with their clients and the community in general. IH Category: Diversity Department size: Small Company: Nissan Canada Promoting diversity beyond the legal department Left of car: Scott Mitchell, Tracey Rowe, Fernando Garcia, Ahmad Ghaddar, and Sadiyya Edoo. ROBIN KUNISKI

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