Dean Emeritus Donald Polden and his co-author Leah Jackson Teague (Baylor University School of Law) have published More Diversity Requires More Inclusive Leaders Leading by Example in Law Organizations, 48 Hofstra L. Rev. 681 (2020). Polden and Teague highlight why diversity and inclusion are fundamentally important to law firms, corporate counsel offices, government law departments, and legal education: not only do lawyers play an essential role in the fight for a more just and equitable society, but also, as the empirical studies they review demonstrate, workplace diversity and inclusion lead to a more innovative, creative, productive, and profitable enterprise. The authors report on data suggesting that law firms in particular recently have had only modest success in enhancing workplace diversity. They then make the case that committed and skilled leadership is essential to successful diversity and inclusion efforts given the significant headwinds that such efforts are likely to face. Finally, Polden and Teague set out best practices for effective leadership in this area, beginning with taking a hard look at the law organization’s current environment. They recommend that leaders articulate a clear vision of the diversity initiative’s objectives, maximize buy-in by explaining how diversity and inclusion benefit the organization and all of its members, and model their personal commitment to diversity and inclusion in their own behavior on a daily basis.
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