Hi there,

We continually hear from in-house teams that they want more diversity in their outside counsel teams and firms. 

Still, we know that the reality doesn’t often match that intention. (But don’t take my word for it…the ol’ “look right, look left” test quickly reveals the truth of the situation).

Our team is fresh off attending the National Association of Minority & Women-Owned Law Firms (NAMWOLF) Annual Meeting last week in Baltimore. 

Here’s what we learned about the state of affairs.

NAMWOLF firms are hustling hard — maybe even harder than a certain legal tech startup I know 🤔 — to get in front of corporate teams. 

They’re also asking: “How can we win more work on PERSUIT?” 

Like many of the answers to fixing the broken billable hours system, most of the power here lies with in-house teams. 

NAMWOLF firms can’t win matters if they’re not being invited to opportunities (although PERSUIT has done quite a bit on our platform to make inviting NAMWOLF firms as easy as possible). And in-house teams are the ones determining where the industry’s legal spend gets allocated. 

The in-house teams who are having the most success in walking their talk on diversity are taking the time to invest in their relationships with NAMWOLF firms and their people.

What does this look like in practice? Our Legal Advisory Team shares more about some of the tactics that were discussed at the conference in our latest article: “3 Ways In-House Teams Can Grow Their Partnership with NAMWOLF Firms.”

Finally, we hear that NAMWOLF firms are increasingly seeing PERSUIT as an important partner in improving their opportunities with corporate clients.

It’s something we were thrilled (and proud) to hear. And it also came as no surprise. 

You can’t hide behind data. 📊

We shared just a small bit of that data at the conference — dispelling some of the common myths we hear about diverse firms’ participation in RFPs — which you can read more about here.

In the meantime, we’ve still got a lot to do to help diverse firms and corporate teams partner more effectively and more frequently. 

Our team is fired up and our wheels are turning about how we can do more and better as a partner to diverse firms and the in-house teams who want to work with them. 

We look forward to continuing to partner with this incredibly collaborative and supportive NAMWOLF community to bring about positive changes in the legal industry. 

Cheers!

Jim

Jim Delkousis

Founder and CEO  

PERSUIT

LEGAL ADVISORY

3 Ways In-House Teams Can Grow Their Partnership With NAMWOLF Firms

As the legal profession continues to prioritize diversity, equity, and inclusion in the advancement and progression of its lawyers, members of the National Association of Minority & Women-Owned Law Firms (NAMWOLF) have attracted an influx of the profession's top talent as lawyers look for alternatives to BigLaw practice.

Still, many perceived risks associated with using NAMWOLF firms persist. Some in-house teams worry that NAMWOLF firms may not have the capacity, jurisdictional coverage, cost efficiencies, or range of expertise that are enjoyed by large, majority-owned firms.

Here are 3 ways in-house teams can overcome these concerns and successfully grow their partnerships with NAMWOLF firms, forwarding diversity in the profession without sacrificing the quality of representation or exposing the business to unnecessary risk. 

Continue Reading: 3 Ways In-House Teams Can Grow Their Partnership With NAMWOLF Firms

Cassieoppia Snowden

Manager, Legal Advisory

PERSUIT

DATA

Data + DEI: Refuting 4 Common Myths About DEI and RFPs in Legal

—Over 1,000 RFPs submitted on PERSUIT have used our DEI module and more than 50% of NAMWOLF firms have participated in RFPs on PERSUIT.   

By aggregating and anonymizing our data on how our clients are using these tools to engage diverse firms and time-keepers on PERSUIT, we are able to refute several common myths about diverse-owned firms and the RFP process. 

Here’s what we shared at the recent 2023 NAMWOLF (National Association of Minority & Women Owned Law Firms) conference.

Continue Reading: Data + DEI — Refuting 4 Common Myths About DEI and RFPs in Legal

CUSTOMER SPOTLIGHT

Ensuring DEI in Firm Selection: Miller Knoll

"Leveraging PERSUIT, we're able to show our commitment to DEI and be able to show the business that, at the legal team, we're partnering with firms that have the same commitment that we have around DEI and we want to be accountable to ourselves," says Olivier Manigat, Vice President and Associate General Counsel at MillerKnoll.

You can hear more about how Manigat's legal team uses DEI data to ensure that the legal suppliers they work with match their company's initiatives here. 

UPCOMING EVENTS

Where's PERSUIT? 

Here's where you can find us this month:

• Innovative Legal Leaders Roundtable: Paris, FR, September 27 — By invitation
• Innovative Legal Leaders Roundtable: New York, October 16 — By invitation
• WEBINAR: Unlocking Tech Success Together — The Evolving Relationship Between GCs & Their Legal Ops Team, October 19