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Bright Spots

Celebrating successes to build momentum for future initiatives.

When you’ve worked hard to create an important diversity or flexibility initiative that truly impacts your organization’s bottom line, recruitment and retention capabilities, or employee satisfaction, you should celebrate your Bright Spots.

Bright Spots can be small or large successes that impact your organization in a positive way.

When you share your Bright Spots you’re building momentum for future initiatives and support from your colleagues. The simple act of compiling your successes can help you self-reflect, take stock, and plan future goals.

As a community of organizations dedicated to the evolution of diversity and flexibility in the workplace, we want to share your successes. We also hope to start a “Ripple Effect” so organizations will see positive results elsewhere and implement the same strategies at home.

SUBMIT YOUR BRIGHT SPOT

We encourage you to take a moment to reflect on your successes and celebrate your Bright Spots with us.

Please take 10 minutes to share your Bright Spots with us, and you’ll be entered to win a $50 Starbucks gift card!

Fill out the short submission form and email it to Jane Caldeira. Please make sure you give your form a new “Save As” name.

Download Submission Form

CURRENT BRIGHT SPOT

Bright Spot: Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Billable Hours

July 28, 2021

In an effort to inform and inspire our members and friends, we often share diversity and flexibility Bright Spots – those small or large successes that impact an organization in a positive way. We believe that important diversity and flexibility initiatives can truly impact your organization’s bottom line, recruitment and retention capabilities and employee satisfaction.

BRIGHT SPOT – Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Billable Hours

Recent Bright Spots in the legal community are new Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Hours Policies implemented by several law firms in which employees can accrue billable hours towards their annual target by participating in efforts that advance DE&I.

Some examples of projects that may qualify for DE&I billable hours include:

Serving in leadership positions on committees or subcommittees related to diversity;
Managing diversity projects;
Presenting materials for use in diversity training or programming;
Attending internal or external diversity trainings;
Participating in affinity group activities; and
Representing the firm at diversity-based job fairs and recruiting events.

IMPACT

We are happy to report that we’ve seen a very positive Ripple Effect to these new policies and many firms are now jumping on the DE&I billable hours bandwagon. Examples of firms that have instituted a DE&I billable hours policy include (but are not limited to): Ogletree Deakins, Davis Wright Tremaine, Cooley and Hogan Lovells, as well as one of the early pioneers of this trend Dorsey & Whitney who implemented their policy in 2019.

It’s important to note that Reed Smith seems to be one of the first firms to extend their policy to its business professionals.

RECENT BRIGHT SPOTS

Bright Spot: Ogletree, Deakins’ Family Leave Policy and Supporting Initiatives

June 29, 2020

In an effort to inform and inspire our members and friends, we often share diversity and flexibility Bright Spots – those small or large successes that impact an organization in a positive way. We believe that important diversity and flexibility initiatives can truly impact your organization’s bottom line, recruitment and retention capabilities and employee satisfaction.

BRIGHT SPOT

Ogletree Deakins’ gender-neutral Family Leave policy is an impressive Bright Spot. Comprehensively developed, this policy provides a wide range of support mechanisms for attorneys during and following their family leave.

Ogletree’s family leave initiative includes the following benefits:

A gender-neutral Paid Parental Leave (PPL) benefit of up to 16 weeks salary is provided to any attorney on an approved leave after the birth, adoption or foster care placement of a child.
To further help ease an attorney’s transition back to work after the leave, the firm provides an additional on-ramping program which allows for reduced billable hours for a limited period of time. Attorneys are not required to formally request on-ramping and the program does not affect compensation.
Attorneys who are parents also have access to an on-demand back-up childcare service in the event of last minute childcare needs. (This service is also available for the care of an aging parent or other adult dependents.)
A “Milk Stork” program supports nursing mothers by coordinating the shipment of milk when the mother is traveling on firm business.
A business resource group, ODFamily, serves as a resource to assist parents transitioning back to work.
Each new parent has access to an e-course that helps new parents prepare for the transition back to work and offers web community support for questions and resources.

Bright Spot: Dickinson Wright’s Staff Parental Leave Policy

May 14, 2020

In an effort to inform and inspire our members and friends, we often share diversity and flexibility Bright Spots – those small or large successes that impact an organization in a positive way. We believe that important diversity and flexibility initiatives can truly impact your organization’s bottom line, recruitment and retention capabilities and employee satisfaction.

Dickinson Wright’s Staff Parental Leave Policy

BRIGHT SPOT

Detroit-based law firm, Dickinson Wright has implemented a paid parental leave policy for its staff. The new policy, implemented January 1, 2020, allows staff to take up to 12 weeks of full-paid leave to care for a newborn or newly adopted child. The policy is gender neutral and outlines new processes for off-ramping and on-ramping employees.

The Office Administrator and supervisors provide staff members with off-ramping support such as alternative schedule options, re-allocation of work and remote work opportunities. When the staff member returns from parental leave, the firm provides on-ramping benefits including a gradual return schedule, workload planning support, guidance on dealing with any implicit bias, and options for alternative schedules. The Office Administrator continues to check in with employees following a leave for up to one year to make sure that there are no concerns.

The firm has also designated a Parental Leave Coordinator who helps to manage communications between the employee, his or her supervisors, the Office Administrator, the Director of Human Resources and the firm’s Staff Parental Leave Sub-Committee of the Diversity & Inclusion Committee. The firm also offers a complimentary Employee Assistance Plan for additional resources before, during and after parental leave.

The new staff paid parental leave policy was a core initiative for the firm’s Diversity & Inclusion Committee for 2019 and reflects the firm’s desire to continuously improve the work environment for all employees.

Bright Spot: Ogletree Deakins’ Women’s Initiative

November 20, 2019

In an effort to inform and inspire our members and friends, we often share diversity and flexibility Bright Spots – those small or large successes that impact an organization in a positive way. We believe that important diversity and flexibility initiatives can truly impact your organization’s bottom line, recruitment and retention capabilities and employee satisfaction.

Ogletree Deakins’ Women’s Initiative

BRIGHT SPOT

The women’s initiative at Ogletree Deakins is a Bright Spot as it has enhanced the firm’s ability to retain and advance female attorneys at a remarkable rate. Stemming from the desire to increase the number of women in leadership, the process began with the creation of a Women’s Task Force. This force helped to identify the issues women were facing and made recommendations on potential solutions.

With this information, Ogletree implemented the following strategies and programs:

Ombudsman: A former board member was made available to assist firm lawyers in resolving work-related concerns and conflicts in an informal, confidential, and impartial manner.
Credit Guidelines: A review of origination credit guidelines paired with the realization that it is often difficult for women to have conversations with senior men regarding credit, gave way to change. Ogletree’s credit origination guidelines were refreshed to enhance clarity, promote collaboration, and help all attorneys address and handle difficult situations and advocate on their own behalf.
Compensation Process: Ogletree has an open compensation system. A new compensation appeals process was created to enhance transparency and reduce concerns about peers’ compensation, and an independent pay equity audit was conducted. Throughout the process, the firm made sure there was significant representation from women.
Sponsorship Program: Ogletree took a very deliberate and intentional look at the pipeline and decided to create a sponsorship program to increase opportunities for women to move from non-equity to equity positions within the firm.

Implement meaningful change within your organization.

Benefits of Membership

Bright Spots

Celebrating successes to build momentum for future initiatives.

SUBMIT YOUR BRIGHT SPOT

CURRENT BRIGHT SPOT

Bright Spot: Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Billable Hours

RECENT BRIGHT SPOTS

Bright Spot: Ogletree, Deakins’ Family Leave Policy and Supporting Initiatives

Bright Spot: Dickinson Wright’s Staff Parental Leave Policy

Bright Spot: Ogletree Deakins’ Women’s Initiative

Implement meaningful change within your organization.

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