GC/MP Roundtable

CLI has created an initiative that involves 14 prominent corporate general counsel and more than 40 managing partners.  They meet twice a year to create solutions to the retention/advancement issues that research demonstrates have greater impacts on diverse attorneys. Michael Connelly, Vice President and General Counsel of Xcel Energy, now leads this initiative.  From 2009 to 2010 the Roundtable was led by Rich Baer, former CAO and GC of Qwest Communications.

Retention Model for Leaders

The GC/MP Roundtable created a retention model for leaders of law firms and legal departments. The model contains action items that address the core questions of diversity and inclusiveness for leaders:

1.  Personal Leadership:  What concrete steps can I take as the leader in my organization to increase diversity and create a culture of inclusion within the organization? 
2.  Team Leadership:  What can I do as the leader in my organization to create a team of people that can effectively lead efforts to increase diversity and create a culture of inclusion within the organization?
3.  Next Level Leadership:  What can I do as the leader in my organization to create greater understanding with next level leaders (i.e. Practice Group Leaders) and gain their buy-in to increase diversity and create a culture of inclusion within the organization?
4.  Urgency/Business Case:  What can I do as the leader in my organization to communicate a sense of urgency regarding diversity and inclusiveness and get past organizational inertia (and other barriers) on these topics?
5.  Including White Men:  What can I do as the leader in my organization to create greater awareness of the issues among white men in the organization and communicate the importance of the role they play in increasing diversity and creating cultures of inclusion?

Participating GCs

The GCs/Designated Corporate Counsel participating in the GC/MP Retention Roundtable include:

• Chair:  Michael Connelly – Xcel Energy

• Greg Buehne – CoBank
• Doug Friednash – Denver City Attorney
• Jeff Gearhart – Walmart
• Dennis Kaw – Appliance Factory Outlet
• Laurie Korneffel – CenturyLink
• Kevin MacCary – United Launch Alliance
• Annita Menogan – Red Robin Gourmet Burgers
• Margaret McLean – CH2M HILL
• Dan McNulty – Lockheed Martin Space Systems
• Rhonda Parish – Einstein Noah
• Kim Rivera – DaVita
• Karen Ripley – MillerCoors
• Cindy Ryan – Johns Manville

Leadership Excellence Award

A 2010 Leadership Diversity and Inclusiveness Competition

Larry Theis

In March 2010, Rich Baer created a retention initiatives leadership competition whereby managing partners and general counsel identified an action item to begin implementing. Managing partners submitted entries for consideration in the competition and the winner was announced at the November 4, 2010 Roundtable meeting. Thirty firms and legal departments participated.Holme Roberts & Owen LLP and Larry Theis, a partner and Chair of HRO’s Executive Committee, were selected as the 2010 leadership competition award winners. Theis chose to begin implementing an action item that called for his law firm to make inclusiveness a same-level priority as other firm business initiatives. Read the press release about the competition and award winners.

Focus Group June 2011

CLI hosted a Focus Group Discussion on the Retention and Advancement of Diverse Attorneys on June 30, 2011 at the Four Seasons Hotel in Denver, Colorado. Corporate counsel, diverse law firm partners and managing partners from CLI member organizations participated in a facilitated discussion with Dr. Arin Reeves, Nextions LLC. Together the group discussed barriers for diverse law firm partners and collaboratively created specific action items for each group to individually implement. The action items provide the foundation for CLI's national campaign Step Up For Diversity.

Step Up For Diversity - A National Grassroots Inclusiveness Campaign

CLI's national grassroots inclusiveness campaign Step Up for Diversity: Take Action To Build An Inclusive Legal ProfessionTM encourages individuals - corporate counsel, supervising attorneys, and other attorneys - to take action, small and large for real progress. We make it easy by providing action items; attorneys report their individual progress.  Sign up to participate and see the list of who's participating at StepUpForDiversity.org. Participation is free. The entry period for 2012 incentives closes March 31, 2012. This innovative initiative will help diverse and female attorneys build crucial relationships for success and create a more inclusive legal profession overall. National research studies report diverse and female attorneys are routinely (but mostly unintentionally) excluded from career-enhancing opportunities, which contributes to the fact that the legal field is still the least diverse of all professions. Read an article about Step Up For Diversity.

For More Information about the GC/MP Retention Roundtable:

Contact CLI Executive Director Kathleen Nalty for more information about the GC/MP Retention Roundtable.
To learn more about the leadership action items, which are included in CLI’s innovative inclusiveness manual, go to www.legalinclusiveness.org.