Diversity & Inclusion Counseling
Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) is an essential component of every company’s business. Organizations are being held accountable to report on the diversity of their organizations as a metric for overall business health.
Jackson Walker’s labor and employment attorneys are experienced and passionate about advising companies and their management on effective, legally compliant strategies to become more inclusive, welcoming, and ultimately more successful workplaces.
Our D&I practice encompasses and builds upon the Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action or Affirmative Employment legal services Jackson Walker is trusted to provide, and the services and training offered are tailored specifically with your organization’s goals, culture, and needs in mind. Our attorneys can work with employers and management to incorporate D&I concepts into a strategic initiative backed by a formal policy and/or plan to ensure your workplace enables workers from all backgrounds and experiences to work at their full potential so business can thrive.
The Benefits to Your Company of a Robust D&I Strategy and Plan
A lack of diversity and inclusion is bad for business. It promotes an unhealthy workplace by undermining morale, teamwork, and productivity; it makes it harder to recruit and retain diverse talent; and it can affect a company’s reputation and bottom line. Worse, a lack of diversity and inclusion can be costly for an organization in terms of legal liability.
A robust, successful D&I plan allows employers to foster a more welcoming workplace that respects and celebrates differences among employees and teaches employees how to collaborate while embracing diverse perspectives and experiences. A diverse and inclusive workplace is a business imperative and essential for optimal performance, which leads to real financial gains for companies.
Diversity & Inclusion Programs: Why, How, and When They Work
Download our summary of Diversity & Inclusion programs to learn the key components of success and important considerations for your business.
To achieve your D&I goals and objectives, we provide the following services:
- Advice and counseling
- D&I culture assessments and audits
- Workplace policy development and drafting
- Individualized training to both employees and management
- Development of training materials for “train-the-trainer” programs conducted internally by the company
- Recommendation of third-party vendors who provide effective & specialized D&I services or training
- Crisis management and planning
- Targeted litigation defense
Further, our attorneys are well-versed in designing and implementing individualized plans tailored to your organization to improve the workplace and minimize risk. Our individualized plans may include the following:
- Conducting Culture Assessments and Developing Goals and Metrics
- We perform a culture assessment of your organization to identify any patterns or imbalances that may hinder the development or maintenance of a diverse and inclusive workplace.
- We identify disparities and analyze the data to determine all issues and how to best determine success while operating under the attorney-client privilege.
- Your managers can feel free to ask our attorneys candid questions about D&I initiatives and promoting legal compliance in your organization.
- We then help your organization develop a clear strategy, goals, and metrics to address any disparities and to minimize risk.
- Planning
- Working with your teams, we develop a plan to reach your diversity goals and to revitalize workplace practices where needed to assure D&I success and to reduce legal and compliance risk.
- Training
- We develop individualized training programs which take into consideration your unique culture and goals.
- We conduct unconscious bias training.
- Our training programs incorporate the most recent changes to employment laws, and we continually revise the training to ensure your understanding of all laws and regulations is up-to-date.
- Our experienced team of attorneys can provide training for your organization, or develop a program your organization can utilize to train its own employees.
- Crisis Management and Litigation Defense
- Our team will be with you every step of the way, from the planning stages through implementation and maintenance of your program.
- We work with you to ensure your employment policies and procedures are up to date and take into consideration all recent changes to workplace laws and regulations.
- We work with you on crisis intervention and management, and when needed, we provide effective litigation defense.
Our goal at Jackson Walker is to see our clients succeed. With a robust D&I strategy and plan, companies can demonstrate to their employees and the general public their commitment to D&I, and better attract and retain talent with a diverse set of skills and expertise to the benefit of its business.
December 18, 2024
Attorney News
Maggie Lu Receives Pathfinder Program Atlas Award
Jackson Walker proudly congratulates Maggie Lu on being a recipient of the 2024 Atlas Award, presented by the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD). This award was received upon the successful completion of her 2024 LCLD Pathfinder Program experience.
December 16, 2024
Newsletters
JW Diversity & Inclusion Newsletter – December 2024
View Jackson Walker’s December 2024 Diversity & Inclusion Newsletter, Perspectives.
November 20, 2024
Insights
The Politics of Immigration and Its Impact on Business | Texas Lawyer
In this Texas Lawyer article, Sang M. Shin delves into the often-overlooked business side of immigration, highlighting how employment-based visas and investment options are crucial for filling labor gaps and fostering economic growth in the U.S. The article also discusses the potential negative impacts of reducing immigrant labor.
October 31, 2024
Spotlight
Jackson Walker Recognized by Leadership Council for Legal Diversity as a 2024 Top Performer and Compass Award Winner
Jackson Walker is honored to announce that it has been named a Top Performer and Compass Award winner by the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD), which recognizes law firms and corporations that show a strong commitment to building a more inclusive legal profession.
October 30, 2024
Podcasts
Jackson Walker’s Diversity & Inclusion Counseling on Navigating the Post-Harvard Corporate Landscape
JW Fast Takes Podcast | ~10 minutes
In this episode of Jackson Walker Fast Takes, Houston partners Jamila M. Brinson and Dawn S. Holiday join host Courtney White to discuss the significant shifts in the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) landscape following the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard.
October 9, 2024
Speaking Engagements
Jamila Brinson Joins Panel Discussion at Houston DiverseCity Summit
Jackson Walker partner Jamila M. Brinson will serve as a panelist at the 4th Annual Houston DiverseCity Summit on Friday, October 18, 2024, at the Marriott Marquis in Houston, Texas.
October 7, 2024
Podcasts
Honoring Hispanic Heritage Month with Robert Soza and Mario Perez Dolan
JW Fast Takes Podcast | ~11 minutes
In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, Robert Soza Jr. and Mario Perez Dolan join Fast Takes to share their personal stories and reflections on their Hispanic heritage and legal careers.
October 4, 2024
Speaking Engagements
Priya Coffey and Jennifer Freel to Present at 32nd Annual Texas Minority Counsel Program
Jackson Walker partners S. Priya Coffey and Jennifer S. Freel will be featured panelists at the 32nd Annual Texas Minority Counsel Program (TMCP), presented by the State Bar of Texas from October 23-25, 2024, at the AT&T Hotel & Conference Center in Austin, Texas.
- Provide culture assessments to identify DEI gaps in the workplace, and develop recommendations to address shortcomings
- Provide counsel on legally compliant methods to obtain employee identification data needed to assess diversity metrics
- Provide counsel on the development of equal employment opportunity and affirmative action plans
- Design and facilitate customized DEI trainings and presentations, such as the impact of unconscious bias in performance reviews
- Develop company policies and procedures that integrate DEI best practices and ensure legal compliance with employment workplace laws
- Provide immigration counsel for the creation of DEI recruitment, retention and promotion strategies geared toward companies employing foreign nationals to ensure compliance with immigration laws and regulations
- Advise community boards on effective strategies to increase diversity of board membership
- Assist in the development of employee resource groups, which are groups that provide opportunities for employees of similar race, ethnicity, sexual orientation or abilities to formally gather for social and professional development
- Keep clients up-to-date on changes in employment laws and regulations impacting DEI in the workplace, and how those changes may impact employer DEI efforts
In addition, our attorneys are involved in the following DEI initiatives in the legal profession as well as in the community:
- Designed and developed DiversePro, a community-focused lawyer directory that makes it easier for individual and business clients to find diverse lawyers with a specific culture, language, or life experience
- Serve as Chair of the Board of Directors for the Asian American Bar Association, and in that role, provide support for the development of programming through the Association’s D&I subcommittee, which is aimed at providing opportunities for Asian American lawyers to be educated on cultural issues in the workplace
- Co-founder of the Coalition of Houston Diverse Bar Associations (“Coalition”). The Coalition is comprised of the seven Houston area minority bar groups. Its mission is to advance diversity in the legal profession by increasing dialogue and interaction among bar associations; identifying areas of common concern and shared goals; creating and implementing initiatives to address common concerns and to achieve shared goals; sharing best practices and resources in bar association programming; and building shared platforms
- Led efforts to develop strategies, policies, and practices to help increase diversity of federal judges on the Houston federal bench
- Spearheaded effort to identify diversity and inclusion gaps in Houston Bar Association programming and developed recommendation to increase diversity
- Developed and recommended programming to increase diversity among membership and participation within the Houston Young Lawyers Foundation
- Chair the board of the West Orem Family YMCA, which is focused on serving the needs of a predominately Black and Latino under-resourced community through equitable programming and services
