Internal (Policy, Hiring, and H.R.-related)

Draft a diversity and inclusion policy.
Guidelines to Accomplish Goal: Add a diversity and inclusion policy to your employee handbook. This should cover hiring practices to increase diversity among staff as well as behavior guidelines for all employees. Please provide the language of the policy.

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Create a diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) committee within your firm, company, or department.
Guidelines to Accomplish Goal:  Provide a list of members who sit on your DEI committee, along with a description that includes the committee’s goals, procedures, activities, events, etc. Tips on creating a diversity committee can be found on pages 20-22 of the Diversity and Inclusion Toolkit.

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Implement a diversity and inclusion training strategy, including a requirement that all employees take unconscious bias training.
Guidelines to Accomplish Goal: Unconscious (or implicit) biases are learned stereotypes that are automatic, unintentional, deeply ingrained, universal and able to influence behavior. Unconscious bias training is designed to expose people to their unconscious biases, provide tools to adjust automatic patterns of thinking and ultimately eliminate discriminatory behaviors. Please provide date and source of training conducted, as well as any plans for continued recurring training or onboarding training for new hires.

Implicit bias trainings are offered for small or large groups and can be arranged by contacting a training provider or consultant in your area. Many are flexible and can conduct training on site or at your office. A common resource for training can be found in academia. For instance, both Drake University and the University of Iowa offer implicit bias training.

Other trainings may include anti-harassment, anti-bullying, and anti-discrimination.

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Actively recruit to strengthen the number of diverse attorneys and staff.       
Guidelines to Accomplish Goal: Describe active steps your office management has taken to recruit diverse attorneys and staff. These steps can include things your firm/department was already doing and things you have begun doing pursuant to the Pledge. This Pledge item can be fulfilled by implementing policies or procedures that actively target diverse candidates for both attorney and staff positions. Additionally, employers may describe concrete actions taken, such as participation in diversity job fairs or the circulation of job postings at schools or in areas with diverse populations.

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Offer flexible hours/schedules for all employees.
Guidelines to Accomplish Goal: Provide a description or list of the benefits or perks relating to flexible hours or schedules for attorneys including parental leave for all attorneys, regardless of their gender identity, as well as other programs to assist working attorneys who are currently expecting a child or are new parents returning to work. Some examples include the number of parental leave weeks offered to attorneys (beyond the federal requirements), reduced hours expectation, telecommuting, etc.

Extensive information related to this item can be found at this YLD resource page (scroll down to Parental Leave Task Force Resources).

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Credit attorney’s time for diversity activities or mentoring, or otherwise support these endeavors.
Guidelines to Accomplish Goal: Provide a description of any diversity hours policy for your employees, including what incentives or support attorneys receive for participating in diversity programs (including crediting such activity within their billable hours or workload expectations). Include how the legal employer recognizes and rewards attorneys who are engaged in such activities as: attending internal and external diversity educational sessions, presenting on diversity and inclusion topics, serving on office diversity and inclusion committees, participating in firm affinity groups, holding a leadership role in a local or national affinity bar association or another diversity organization, organizing and attending diversity-related events, or participating in recruiting efforts targeted at diverse candidates.

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Host or sponsor a CLE event for employee attorneys related to diversity or inclusion.
Guidelines to Accomplish Goal:  List date and topic for CLE event, and who participated.

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Have 100 percent of attorney employees and/or shareholders/partners attend a diversity CLE.
Guidelines to Accomplish Goal: Beginning in 2021 Iowa Court Rule 41.3(2) requires attorneys to attend wellness or diversity CLEs. Please provide the topic and date of the CLE attended for each attorney employee.

Upcoming ISBA CLEs

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Ensure that diverse attorneys share responsibility for recruiting and interviewing both new and lateral hires.
Guidelines to Accomplish Goal: Provide a description of the internal controls your employer has in place, or otherwise observes, that demonstrates that diverse attorneys both (a) participate in recruiting and interviewing new and lateral hires, and (b) have an active “say” in the evaluation of new and lateral candidates.

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Establish a formal mentoring program for mentoring of junior attorneys.
Guidelines to Accomplish Goal: Provide a list of members that are part of the mentorship program as well as a description of the program, its goals, procedures, events, etc. You may also establish Employee Resource Groups (ERG) to create a safe environment for people to communicate. ERGs are voluntary, employee-led groups whose aim is to foster a diverse and inclusive workplace aligned with the organization they serve. The groups should have goals that are specific, measurable, achievable and relevant. A group’s goal could be mentorship – providing a junior employee with the guidance of a senior employee.

Helpful Links:

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Create a written commitment to provide diverse attorneys with quality work assignments, interaction with senior attorneys/leaders, training, and opportunities to interact with clients, and steps toward career advancement, enhancement, or satisfaction.
Guidelines to Accomplish Goal: Include diversity in your employer mission statement, annual goals or core principals. This should be documented in any handbook, paperwork, or firm orientation session. Ideally these principles will be repeated throughout your documentation and not just be a line included on a main page. Please provide link or attach documentation.

Include in your diversity and inclusion polices the above opportunities for diverse employees. Track numbers on an annual basis of trainings, partnerships or cases assigned under this commitment.

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Maintain statistics on diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.
Guidelines to Accomplish Goal: Keep a record of both internal and external diversity efforts supported by the employer. Internal efforts may include creating a diversity-focused action group, offering diversity trainings, and implementing policies aimed at supporting inclusivity. External efforts may include supporting organizations that serve diverse groups, participating in community events, and encouraging other legal employers to evaluate their diversity efforts.

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Recognize the diversity efforts of attorneys.
Guidelines to Accomplish Goal:

• Ask attorneys, or legal employer’s marketing team, to keep a record of diversity efforts that attorneys are involved in. Maintain an updated list of activities and share on the legal employer’s website or other promotional spaces in order to emphasize commitment to, and encouragement of, diversity efforts.
• Track memberships - Create a list of each attorney’s current membership(s) in any minority bar associations or diverse subgroups of a non-minority bar association.
• If the efforts are outside of a group effort, have each attorney provide a summary of who the services were for and what services were provided.
• At an annual event (i.e. holiday party, annual review, etc.) do a presentation highlighting those attorney efforts. Give special recognition to attorneys who have significantly contributed to diversity efforts.

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Have employees participate in a 21-Day Equity Challenge.

Guidelines to Accomplish Goal: The ISBA and YLD Diversity Committees have sponsored several organized 21-Day Equity Challenges over the last year, but these can be done on your own time. You can find your own 21-Day Equity Challenge online or see syllabus linked below for daily suggested readings, podcasts, videos and more. Send these daily “habit-building tasks” to employees and encourage facilitated discussions of the materials.

Helpful Links:

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Provide sensitivity training on proper pronoun use and/or add pronouns to the standard email signature as part of standard practice.
Guidelines to Accomplish Goal: Many people in our state identify as transgender or non-binary, and proper pronoun use is a simple way to support these individuals and make sure they feel fully welcomed and embraced in the judicial system and legal community. Organizations, such as One Iowa, conduct trainings statewide on the importance of proper pronoun use. Something as simple as adding pronouns to your email signature – i.e. Bob Jones – he/him/his – is very simple and can raise awareness for this important issue.

Helpful Link:

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Provide training or information on religious tolerance.
Guidelines to Accomplish Goal: Our world has an abundance of religious beliefs and religions, as well as hundreds of millions of people who actively have no religious beliefs. In light of this great diversity, employers should encourage open mindedness when it comes to others’ belief systems. Employers can encourage religious tolerance, as well as inquisitiveness of all religious leanings, by providing training or information related to various religions.

Helpful Links:

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Provide training or information on tolerance for opposing political viewpoints and other political parties.
Guidelines to Accomplish Goals: Political tolerance is the willingness to extend basic rights and civil liberties to persons and groups whose viewpoints differ from one's own. During especially schismatic times, such as a hotly-contested election cycle, it can be difficult to accomplish. There are resources available both exploring the need for political tolerance and providing sources related to different political parties.

Helpful Links:

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Provide training or information about disability awareness.
Guidelines to Accomplish Goal: Provide a list of trainings or information offered by the legal employer regarding disability awareness.

Helpful Links:

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EXTERNAL (COMMUNITY OR OUTREACH-BASED):

Provide legal services to marginalized community members.
Guidelines to Accomplish Goal: Write a summary of who the services were for, what services were provided, and who at your organization provided these services. These services should be provided outside of paid practice. Additionally, legal services can be provided via indigent defense services through court-appointed work.

For information about opportunities to provide legal services to marginalized community members, please visit this Iowa Legal Aid page.

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Establish a program for attorneys to coach or mentor local diverse youth or have members do so individually.
Guidelines to Accomplish Goal: Provide a list of each attorney who coached or mentored local diverse youth. If the attorney participated in a formal program, please provide the name of the program.

While participation in a formal program is not required to meet this checklist item, to find opportunities for coaching and mentoring, please visit this website.

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Have attorneys be active members in a minority bar association or group.
Guidelines to Accomplish Goal: Provide a list of each attorney’s current membership(s) in any minority bar associations or diverse subgroups of a non-minority bar association. If the attorney holds a leadership position or serves on a committee within the minority bar association, please provide that information as well. 

Examples of minority bar associations and diverse subgroups:

• National Bar Association (national membership or Iowa chapter)
• Iowa Organization of Women Attorneys
• Polk County Women Attorneys
• The National LGBT Bar Association
• Hispanic National Bar Association
• National Asian Pacific American Bar Association
• Latin American Bar Association
• Iowa State Bar Association:
  • Diversity and Inclusiveness Committee
  • YLD Diversity Committee
• American Bar Association:
  • Diversity and Inclusion Group

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Have attorneys be active members in a community organization that supports minorities or advances the causes of diversity, inclusion, equal rights, or related causes.
Guidelines to accomplish goal: Provide a list of the attorney(s) and membership(s).

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Sponsor an event or program for a minority association or community organization that supports minorities or advances causes related to diversity, inclusion, and equal rights.
Guidelines to accomplish goal: Provide information about the event or program and support provided.

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Have at least one attorney in the office write and publish an article on the subject of diversity and inclusion.
Guidelines to Accomplish Goal: Provide a copy of the article that was written and published on the subject of diversity and inclusion and provide the publication in which the article was published. A blog post, podcast, or other method of publication is acceptable.

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Have at least one attorney in the firm mentor a diverse middles school, high school, or college student from Iowa interested in a law career.
Guidelines to Accomplish Goal:  Having positive interactions with young people can have significant impacts on their futures. Mentor a student from a diverse background throughout the course of the Pledge term who may want to go into law and document your interactions in that mentoring relationship.

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Have at least one attorney appear as a speaker or featured panelist on a program focused on diversity and inclusion.
Guidelines to Accomplish Goal: Provide a list of each attorney who was a speaker or featured panelist on a program focused on diversity and inclusion and note the topic of the discussion. If the attorney participated in a formal program or organization, please provide the name of the program or organization. While participation in a formal program is not required to meet this checklist item, some opportunities are listed below.

Helpful Links:

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Hold a clinic for a historically underrepresented group (i.e. an expungement clinic).
Guidelines to Accomplish Goal: Many persons of color are disproportionately contacted by our law enforcement communities. This has proven to lead to persons of color being disproportionately impacted by criminal convictions for low-level offenses. Holding an expungement clinic to file requests for expungement of such offenses can help persons of diverse backgrounds get better housing and job prospects. This is an extremely impactful way for the legal community to help change lives for persons of diverse backgrounds. Possible partnerships may be explored with local bar associations or chapters of Iowa Legal Aid. Please provide information about date clinic was held and how many individuals were involved.

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Provide a “know your rights training” for how to safely interact with law enforcement while also protecting constitutional rights.
Guidelines to Accomplish Goal: Many persons of color are disproportionately contacted by our law enforcement communities. This stems from many different factors, such as implicit bases towards persons of color, as well as increased presence of police in neighborhoods primarily occupied by minorities. It is important to make sure that everyone has practical guidance for what to do when encountered by law enforcement, and how to make sure they actively protect their constitutional rights in a safe and effective manner. Possible partnerships may be explored with organizations such as the Iowa Association for Justice, Iowa Criminal Defense Attorneys Association, National Organization for Reform of Marijuana Laws and the Drake Legal Clinic, among others.

Helpful Websites:

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