Washington Lawyer - June 2020 - 19

FEATURE

Moving the Needle
on Law Firm Diversity
By Sarah Kellogg

W

hen Nixon Peabody LLP joined with four other large law
firms to pioneer the Move the Needle (MTN) Fund, a
groundbreaking diversity project, it was an audacious
step. After all, the firms not only committed to invest
$5 million to test bold new approaches to increase diversity and
inclusion in the legal profession, but they also publicly pledged to
meet their aggressive and measurable goals over five years.

In January 2020, the clock started ticking on that five-year
commitment. Launched in 2019, the MTN Fund is the first
collaborative effort of its kind, with the founding firms partnering with Diversity Lab, an incubator for innovative ideas
to boost law firm diversity. The firms will experiment with
data-driven and research-based methods to achieve their
diversity goals, and then publicly report their progress.

the first thing folks are going to want to know is how did we
do it and how can they implement it?"

"I've met with a number of office managing partners of other
law firms in the D.C. area," says Colette A. Dafoe, managing
partner of Nixon Peabody's Washington office. "Diversity is a
hot topic in our conversations. It's an issue that law firms want
to have an answer to, and it's not for a lack of trying. If we're
able to have a successful track record with Move the Needle,

Aside from Nixon Peabody, the MTN Fund includes Eversheds
Sutherland (US) LLP, Goodwin Procter LLP, Orrick Herrington &
Sutcliffe LLP, and Stoel Rives LLP, as well as the general counsel
of some 25 international companies, various legal community
partners, and the Northwestern University Pritzker School
of Law.

iStock

Nixon Peabody has pledged that by 2025 the firm's equity
partners will comprise 30 percent women attorneys (up from
17 percent today), 12 percent racially/ethnically diverse attorneys (up from 7 percent), and 6 percent LGBTQ+ attorneys
(up from 3 percent).

JUNE 2020

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WASHINGTON LAWYER

19



Washington Lawyer - June 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Washington Lawyer - June 2020

YOUR VOICE
FROM OUR PRESIDENT
PRACTICE MANAGEMENT
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
BAR BUSINESS: BUDGET REPORT
MEET GEOFFREY M. KLINEBERG: 49TH PRESIDENT OF THE D.C. BAR
MOVING THE NEEDLE ON LAW FIRM DIVERSITY
THE 2020 JOHN PAYTON LEADERSHIP ACADEMY
JAMES SANDMAN GOES BACK TO SCHOOL
LAW & SERVICE: OAG CONNECTS TO THE COMMUNITY
ON FURTHER REVIEW
THE LEARNING CURVE
MEMBER SPOTLIGHT
WORTH READING
ATTORNEY BRIEFS
DISCIPLINARY SUMMARIES
THE PRO BONO EFFECT
SPECIAL SECTION: UNFINISHED FIGHT
LAST WORD
Washington Lawyer - June 2020 - Cover1
Washington Lawyer - June 2020 - Cover2
Washington Lawyer - June 2020 - 1
Washington Lawyer - June 2020 - 2
Washington Lawyer - June 2020 - 3
Washington Lawyer - June 2020 - 4
Washington Lawyer - June 2020 - YOUR VOICE
Washington Lawyer - June 2020 - FROM OUR PRESIDENT
Washington Lawyer - June 2020 - 7
Washington Lawyer - June 2020 - PRACTICE MANAGEMENT
Washington Lawyer - June 2020 - 9
Washington Lawyer - June 2020 - CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Washington Lawyer - June 2020 - BAR BUSINESS: BUDGET REPORT
Washington Lawyer - June 2020 - MEET GEOFFREY M. KLINEBERG: 49TH PRESIDENT OF THE D.C. BAR
Washington Lawyer - June 2020 - 13
Washington Lawyer - June 2020 - 14
Washington Lawyer - June 2020 - 15
Washington Lawyer - June 2020 - 16
Washington Lawyer - June 2020 - 17
Washington Lawyer - June 2020 - MOVING THE NEEDLE ON LAW FIRM DIVERSITY
Washington Lawyer - June 2020 - 19
Washington Lawyer - June 2020 - 20
Washington Lawyer - June 2020 - 21
Washington Lawyer - June 2020 - 22
Washington Lawyer - June 2020 - 23
Washington Lawyer - June 2020 - THE 2020 JOHN PAYTON LEADERSHIP ACADEMY
Washington Lawyer - June 2020 - 25
Washington Lawyer - June 2020 - 26
Washington Lawyer - June 2020 - 27
Washington Lawyer - June 2020 - JAMES SANDMAN GOES BACK TO SCHOOL
Washington Lawyer - June 2020 - 29
Washington Lawyer - June 2020 - 30
Washington Lawyer - June 2020 - 31
Washington Lawyer - June 2020 - LAW & SERVICE: OAG CONNECTS TO THE COMMUNITY
Washington Lawyer - June 2020 - 33
Washington Lawyer - June 2020 - ON FURTHER REVIEW
Washington Lawyer - June 2020 - 35
Washington Lawyer - June 2020 - THE LEARNING CURVE
Washington Lawyer - June 2020 - 37
Washington Lawyer - June 2020 - MEMBER SPOTLIGHT
Washington Lawyer - June 2020 - 39
Washington Lawyer - June 2020 - 40
Washington Lawyer - June 2020 - 41
Washington Lawyer - June 2020 - WORTH READING
Washington Lawyer - June 2020 - ATTORNEY BRIEFS
Washington Lawyer - June 2020 - DISCIPLINARY SUMMARIES
Washington Lawyer - June 2020 - 45
Washington Lawyer - June 2020 - THE PRO BONO EFFECT
Washington Lawyer - June 2020 - 47
Washington Lawyer - June 2020 - 48
Washington Lawyer - June 2020 - 49
Washington Lawyer - June 2020 - SPECIAL SECTION: UNFINISHED FIGHT
Washington Lawyer - June 2020 - 51
Washington Lawyer - June 2020 - LAST WORD
Washington Lawyer - June 2020 - Cover3
Washington Lawyer - June 2020 - Cover4
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