In today's internet age, a web site is one of the most important, dynamic, and visual ways that a law firm can communicate with prospective employees and clients. Law students, attorneys looking to make a move, and corporations who need to hire a firm often start their search on the web. And if they don't find what they are looking for, often the search ends there as well.
For lawyers of color and those who are committed to diversity, it's often the first factor they consider when evaluating a firm's web site. They ask: Is diversity displayed prominently on the firm's homepage, or relegated to a mention in a generic EEOC clause? Is diversity threaded into the "Firm Culture" or "About the Firm" page? Is senior management's involvement in diversity initiatives apparent from the site?
Recently, MCCA® performed an informal audit of the web sites of 25 prestigious law firms from the AmLaw 100. (Five firms also ranked among the Vault's 2004 "Best 20 Law Firms for Diversity" and Law.com's 2004 list of "The Most Diverse" law firms.) The audit was based on criteria used and suggested by several leading sources, including the 2004-05 Internet Marketing Attorney Awards1 and Evaluation Criteria and Quality Control for Legal Knowledge Systems on the Internet.2 In addition, several firms with top-tier diversity web presence shared details of their web development experience.
Each firm's web site was rated on three criteria:
- Content-the quality and availability of information relating to diversity. Does the site contain substantive content such as a stated commitment, a diversity plan, and/or firm-wide demographics?
- Design-the quality and accessibility of diversity information. Does the page have an intuitive layout that is easy to follow? Is there a separate diversity page no more than two clicks away? For those with search capabilities, are "diversity" search results relevant?
- General Experience-relating to but separate from the "look and feel" of the site. Does the site contain graphics featuring diverse employees? At whom is the diversity message aimed-clients, prospective associates, or employees?
Reviews were based solely on web site content-irrespective of the firm's known diversity track record-to better emulate the impression made on a prospective client or employee. Ultimately, the recommendations found below are based less on hard data than on perception: How will a viewer perceive your firm's diversity priorities based upon your web site, and what can you do to positively influence this perception?
The Best and Worst Approaches to Diversity Web Site Development
Eighteen, or 72 percent, of the 25 randomly sampled firms' web sites host some form of a diversity web page or link. Eleven feature diversity links prominently displayed as a top-line item on the site's homepage beside firm history and practice, or as a drop-down link to the "About the Firm" or "Our People" links. Diversity webpages for the remaining seven are no more than two clicks away from the homepage, most often within recruiting or career opportunity pages-a good placement, but one that may suggest diversity efforts are restricted to recruiting efforts alone and may fail to address retention or promotion. In contrast, seven (28 percent) firms make little or no reference to diversity on their web sites. There was no mention of diversity in any section of four separate firms' web sites, even when using available search capabilities. One firm's search results for "diversity" include an attorney involved in the firm's diversity committee, but no further mention of this committee or any other diversity initiative. Still another has only the firm's generic EEOC policy as its nod to diversity, while the last contains a short but inconclusive statement about the importance of diversity and individuality among its attorneys.
It is notable that a number of firms recognized as diversity leaders by Vault, American Lawyer, MCCA&, and others, fell within this latter category of poor diversity web presence. This finding is not to discount the outstanding diversity achievements of these firms, but rather to demonstrate why careful consideration of content, presentation, and experience is important to each firm's diversity web presence.
Top Diversity Web Presence (in alphabetical order):
- Arnold & Porter LLP
- Bryan Cave LLP
- Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP
- Davis Polk & Wardwell
- Kirkland & Ellis LLP
- Latham & Watkins LLP
- LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae LLP
- Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw LLP
- Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP
- Shearman & Sterling LL
MCCA's Recommendations
I. Content
There is no substitute for substantive content. A one-sentence declaration that a firm believes in diversity is perhaps as effective as declaring nothing at all. A clearly stated commitment to diversity; an outline of the firm's diversity plan and goals; a description of active diversity initiatives; a list of diversity committee members, demographics, and diversity achievements-any combination of these can make for a substantive overview of the firm's perspective on diversity.
How this content is developed differs by firm. At Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP, a web site development team, including partners and administrative staff from the firm's recruiting, business development, and human resources departments, met a number of times to brainstorm about different topics and items related to diversity that might interest law students and potential clients. "By working together and meeting several times," says Cravath's Presiding Partner Robert D. Joffe, "the group came up with a short list of elements they knew they wanted to include: One, a statement that would address the firm's approach to maintaining a diverse workplace; two, a list of diversity-related associations that the firm supports; three, details about the workings of the firm's diversity committee; four, information about related events that the firm participates in, both within and outside of the firm, and; five, the firm's Equal Opportunity Employment and Anti-Discrimination Policy." The result is a comprehensive display of the firm's approach to diversity.
MCCA& found several web sites with outstanding substantive diversity information presented in a variety of innovative ways. Examples include:
- Davis Polk & Wardwell's expansive presentation of firm-wide demographics, including those of women and minority summer associates through partners;
- Arnold & Porter LLP's list of attorneys active in each of its diversity groups, with links to attorneys willing to be contacted with questions relevant to their group membership;
- Latham & Watkins LLP's specificity and well-roundedness-its detailed list of diverse attorneys involved in management, its specific outreach efforts to minority attorneys, the names and offices of attorneys in its Diversity Hiring Committee, the participation of its attorneys in related pro bono work, and so forth;
- A firm-wide memo, as posted on LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae LLP's web site, from the firm chairman announcing recent diversity efforts, its Diversity Initiatives Group and Diversity Plan, and other resources available on the site;
- A clearly stated 'business case' for diversity and diversity plan as on Kirkland & Ellis LLP's site, which also includes the firm's 2005 Diversity Calendars;
- Information on a firm's diversity accomplishments and involvement with diversity organizations as provided on Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP's site; and
- Links to related articles, such as those by Working Mother, Vault and NALP, as found on both Latham & Watkins' and Arnold & Porter's sites.
Another content-related consideration is keeping diversity information accurate and current. The appointment of a diversity director or benefits for same-sex partners warrants mention on a firm's web site, serving the dual purpose of building morale among current employees and touting firm achievements to prospective attorneys and clients.
| Tips for Diversity Web Site Development Do Don't | DO | DON'T |
|---|---|---|
| DO clearly state your commitment to diversity. While this step seems rather basic, a surprising number of firms fail to do so. Include why your firm is committed to diversity-what the firm sees as its value-add-and demonstrate how your firm fosters a diversity-friendly working environment. | X |
|
| DO make diversity information accessible. To best communicate that diversity is central at your firm, make diversity information immediately accessible. Include a link on the homepage or as a drop-down option beneath another link (for example, firm culture or recruiting). Also, remember to synch your search engine to your firm's diversity information. | X |
|
| DO include senior management's buy-in. A statement from your diversity chair or the chair of the firm goes a long way to signaling your firm's commitment. | X |
|
| DO make diversity information readable. Be succinct, engaging, and substantive. | X |
|
| DON'T take a good diversity track record for granted. Just because you have a good track record doesn't mean visitors to your website will know about it. If you have laudable firm-wide demographics or a plan to improve them, lawyers engaged in diversity initiatives, a diversity committee, diversity goals and a mission statement, and diversity honors, toot your own horn. |
| X |
| DON'T state your EEOC policy as a stand-in for diversity. Saying you're an equal opportunity employer doesn't speak to the issue. Do you provide the best legal talent and services, achieved by fostering a diversity of experiences and knowledge among your teams? Do you offer resources, such as diversity training, anti-harassment structures, mentoring, domestic partner benefits, and work/life balance programs, to support all of your attorneys? Do your partnership and associate ranks support your claims of being a diverse entity? These are the kinds of questions a substantive web site will answer. |
| X |
| DON'T be intimidated. Even if you have not had a positive diversity track record in the past, advertise your firm's plan of action to change; for example, "While Smith LLP's partnership ranks are not as diverse as we would like them to be, we recently signed our local bar association's Statement of Diversity Principles, and appointed an in-firm diversity task group to recommend…." |
| X |
To keep content fresh, firms with top-tier diversity sites employ a variety of tactics, often assigning a person or entity the responsibility for updating the site. At Bryan Cave LLP, for example, the Diversity Steering Committee originally developed the diversity web site, but its content is updated continually as the firm's diversity efforts expand: "Ongoing and emerging diversity information," says Jennifer Sloop, recruiting and professional development manager, "is added to our web site through the Professional Resources branch of our Operating Group."
In contrast, Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw LLP's Committee on Diversity and Inclusion provides the updated content for the firm's diversity web site. The Committee, says Russell Harris, diversity initiatives manager, initially "…developed the goals for the information presented in it…. [and now] routinely reevaluates the web site and makes recommendations for the new information to be added."
II. Design
Placement of diversity information can be as telling a factor as actual content-an obscure mention buried within the recruiting page sends a clear message that diversity is a secondary, if not tertiary, afterthought at a firm. A good rule of thumb, regardless of design, is to ensure that diversity information is no more than two clicks away from the homepage and easily located.
The actual design, or how diversity information is presented, is unique to the firm. Of those MCCA reviewed, some had separate pages altogether, accessible by a link on the homepage, while others embedded diversity messaging within relevant pages such as recruiting and firm culture. Some firms used interactive features, including hyperlinked pop-up windows (for example, "initiatives" opens a window highlighting the firm's diversity initiatives) and streaming video content.
Regardless of how a firm presents diversity information, an intuitive and logical layout is essential to a successful design. If a firm's efforts are chiefly focused on recruiting, it may make sense to link the firm's diversity page to its recruiting page. Conversely, if a firm's approach to diversity is holistic, then it makes sense to weave this theme throughout the site, for example, under "Firm Culture" and "Recruiting" as well as its own diversity page. In addition to a detailed diversity web site accessible from the front page of the firm's web site, Shearman and Sterling LLP's diversity site boasts a hyperlink to the firm's 20-page diversity brochure, which features a range of topics from the firm's diversity goals and mission to diversity's integration in its day-to-day dealings. "Our diversity initiative is focused on the importance of integrating diversity into every aspect of the firm," says Anna L. Brown, diversity management attorney. "It is crucial that our web site reflect our values, goals, and initiatives, [and] important that potential employees and clients understand the significance of our efforts."
Finally, "diversity" searches should, obviously, obtain relevant results if a firm's site offers full-text or Boolean (and/or/not) search capabilities. While this feature seems obvious, the audit exposed a number of sites that did not offer this feature.
III. General Experience
Diversity pages should be logically and intuitively placed on a firm's site not only to reflect its importance, but also for easy location. Not being able to find information on the firm's diversity can be as negative an experience as finding non-substantive information. The information should be written with a target audience in mind. Web sites that gear messaging toward current attorneys utilize a tone that translates well to prospective employees and clients. Similarly, the graphics illustrating these pages should utilize diverse images.
On a broader scale, the most effective web sites boast pages that are easy to navigate, graphics that load quickly, and consistent fonts and formatting.
A law firm's diversity web presence is a value-add to the firm. It can help build a sense of support for and awareness of the firm's diversity initiatives among current employees. It can both house and tout the firm's diversity efforts. It can also lend to that initial impression to prospective attorneys and clients that the firm appreciates the business case for diversity and actively seeks the highest caliber of legal resources to better serve the legal industry.
NOTES
- Since 2003, the Internet Marketing Attorney Awards (IMA) has evaluated annually the web sites of the 250 largest law firms in the nation and is one of the only complete and independent reviews of such sites. IMA ranks each site based on its merit in design, content, usability, interactivity, and intangibles, and awards the top firms for the excellence of their web sites. See Internet Marketing Attorney, "The 2004-05 Internet Marketing Attorney Awards," (2005) at http://www.internetmarketingattorney.com/reviews.htm.
- See Marie Stefanini Newman, Evaluation Criteria and Quality Control for Legal Knowledge Systems on the Internet: A Case Study (1999).
From the July/August 2005 issue of Diversity & The Bar®