Recently, the American Lawyer magazine and other outlets published a few articles on the number of women, or lack thereof, that Am Law 200 firms have promoted to partner this year. Some of the firms named in those articles offered data to suggest that this year’s partner class was an anomaly. Others acknowledged that the number of women promoted this year is low but cited the various mentorship and sponsorship programs that their firms have to help ensure women are promoted to reach the requisite “years-of-service” commitment for partner consideration.
Whether or not your law firm was among those mentioned, public relations can play a role in boosting your firm’s gender diversity profile. More specifically, by having a balance of male and female representation in your PR efforts, you can improve your law firm’s image.
What is your law firm’s PR diversity ratio?
If diversity is a priority for your law firm’s business development and recruiting activities, it should be a goal for its public relations as well. To assess your law firm’s current PR diversity ratio, conduct an audit of the firm’s media quotes, thought leadership authorship and speaking engagements, all of which are key visibility opportunities for your firm’s female lawyers. Review your current and past media quotes from all sources, including legal, trade, industry and mainstream. Group the data by gender, practice and industry group, and office, to get a comprehensive view of your efforts. Conduct a similar analysis of your firm’s thought leadership works and speaking engagements. Ascertain which lawyers are writing and speaking, from which practice groups and offices. The results will serve as your benchmark.
How does your law firm’s PR diversity profile compare?
The Women’s Media Center recently issued a report, “the Status of Women in U.S. Media 2014,” that analyzes women’s current role and participation in the media. The annual report finds that, while women in media have made strides, like women in the legal profession, there is more road to travel to achieve gender parity.
For example, the report cites a data snapshot of front-page stories in the New York Times, finding that men were quoted more than three times as often as women between January and February 2013. As I read that statistic, I wondered how the Am Law 200 would fare in a review of the media quotes from male and female sources from their firms.
After an audit, you will have a clear understanding of your law firm’s own ratio, too. If your firm has reached gender parity with its media sources, thought leadership and speaking engagements, congratulations! If your firm has work to do, the results of an audit will help set goals, guide the firm’s communications priorities, and allocate its resources.
Investing in your law firm’s PR diversity will reap rewards.
Keep in mind that, like cultivating a new partner, your success in boosting the level of diversity in your PR efforts might require some additional investment. Training focused on media relations and public speaking skills will foster confidence and help your attorneys overcome any anti-media sentiment that is pervasive in the legal profession. Jaffe PR’s Strategic Alliance Partner, Kimberly Alford Rice, advises that networking training is also important as “relationship building leads to reputation building.”
Tracking progress on all fronts is critical. Use the data to strive for gender parity in your law firm’s public relations efforts, and the results can help boost the firm’s overall diversity profile as well. So, the next time the American Lawyer emails asking about your firm’s diversity efforts, reach for your PR data and be confident that it will tell a positive story.
Dawn Petrosky is Vice President of Public Reputation Services at Jaffe PR, a full-service legal marketing agency. “Are Law Firms Falling Behind in Diversity?” appeared as a post on the Industry Insight blog at jaffepr.com on March 5, 2014. Dawn can be reached at 571-384-8408 or by email to dpetrosky@jaffepr.com.