Diversity Archives

Katherine Frink-Hamlett, a graduate of New York University School of Law and President of Frink-Hamlett Legal Solutions Inc., moves the diversity and inclusion dialogue into the 21st Century. She addresses questions from both law firm management seeking to recruit and retain diverse candidates and from legal practitioners confronted with professional and personal challenges surrounding inclusion and diversity.

During our brainstorming and planning sessions, several of my colleagues discussed the idea of implementing a firm-wide celebration or event that would annually recognize New York's passage of the Marriage Equality Act. While I generally think that it's an attractive idea, I wonder if it might be offensive to those whose religious views don't embrace same-sex marriage.

I am the director of professional development at a national law firm and I sit on its diversity and women's committees. Over the past five years, we have seen a significant increase in the percentage of our female partners but unfortunately, we haven't had much success with diverse female partners. We've tried everything, but we can't seem to make any long-lasting progress. Are there any particular strategies that work?

My nerves have been so racked thinking about whether I passed the bar and waiting for my start date as a first-year associate that I gained nearly 10 pounds, and like most of the women in my Dominican/black family, it went straight to my thighs and hips. I'm completely mortified and fearful that I won't be able to fit into anything decent. I know I should be focused on getting myself prepared to practice, but right now I am feeling overwhelmed. How can I refocus?

I am a black female and have been a corporate partner with a highly regarded international firm for the past two years. I have started considering new opportunities, but despite my excellent credentials and expertise, I am having some difficulty getting any traction from potential employers. Given all of the hype and desire for diversity at the partnership level, I thought that I would be receiving a more favorable reaction but so far the response has been a little underwhelming.

I am the primary lateral recruiter at a firm with selective hiring criteria and a commitment to diversity. Recently we received the résumé of a Latino male, fourth-year associate with outstanding large firm experience and very good schools, but his GPA is a 2.9, and our minimum for laterals is 3.2. The hiring partners are not interested in pursing his candidacy because of the GPA deficit. What should I do?

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