The panelists discussed how consumer demand for companies to be socially responsible has grown and ways that businesses can meet that demand.
Quarles & Brady LLP of counsel and senior strategic adviser Cornell Boggs said that over the years companies have shifted their approach to societal initiatives.
"When we first set up early in my jobs, I would say that corporate affairs teams were principally there for defensive purposes," Boggs said. Now corporate affairs teams are strategic about societal initiatives, he said.
The other panelists were Netflix Inc. director of global inclusion initiatives and insights Cristina Hernandez and recruiting and advisory firm BarkerGilmore LLC senior adviser Audrey Rubin. The panel moderator was Quarles & Brady President Brad Vynalek.
Here are four ways from the panelists that businesses can use their legal professionals to drive their broader goals.
Get Legal Up To Speed
Hernandez, who practiced law for 20 years, said companies should train their law professionals on diversity, equity and inclusion because legal is always included in business decisions, while DEI professionals are not.
"My job, and our job on the inclusion team, is to [equip] each of our employees with the consciousness, compassion and courage to be transformative forces for inclusion in all spaces," Hernandez said.
Require Diversity From Law Firms
Rubin, who also teaches the business of law at the University of Illinois College of Law, said that corporations should require the law firms that they hire as outside counsel to achieve diversity, equity and inclusion in their own practices.
Boggs added that companies can hold law firms accountable for DEI initiatives by asking them how attorneys get credit for their work and are compensated.
If law firms are not diverse enough, companies can require them to work with a minority-owned firm, Rubin said.
"I would actually call the managing partner or write the managing partner and say I want [a minority] to share the credit for our business," she said.
Start Measuring One Metric
While companies can aspire to achieve many societal goals, they should start by picking one metric to measure, according to Rubin.
After businesses pick their one metric, they should get all of their departments including legal, finance and human resources behind it, Rubin said.
"Everything can be measured. You could measure, if you wanted to, how long it took to brush your teeth and find out a way to do it faster," she said.
Remember Diversity Differs Around the World
During Rubin's last year as a global law and compliance executive at insurance provider Aon Corp., she ensured that every hire for her department around the world was from an underrepresented group, Rubin said.
She said that diversity means different things around the globe and international companies should account for that in their DEI goals.
Boggs said that when he was general counsel at Dow Corning, some of the best ideas for DEI came from the legal operations team including creating a calendar that included holidays around the world.
"These caused cohesion in our department, and it caused our team to trust and count on each other in more important ways that were important to the team," he said.
--Editing by Brian Baresch.
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