Inclusion Blueprint
Inclusion Blueprint
The only tool designed specifically for law firms that measures the “E” and the “I” in DEI at both the leadership and practice group levels.
The Inclusion Blueprint is distinctive because it measures actions that lead to greater diversity. Since its 2018 launch in partnership with ChIPs, it has provided firm management and practice group leaders with a roadmap of inclusion practices to employ and track to ensure all of their lawyers — including those from historically underrepresented groups — have fair and equal access to quality work, influential people, and other opportunities.
Participating firms complete the Inclusion Blueprint assessment by submitting data on four key diversity and inclusion indicators, including:1) current diversity representation within the legal profession, 2) demographics tracking, 3) ongoing inclusion practices and activities at the firm, and 4) ongoing inclusion practices and activities within practice groups.
Latest Findings
With more than 240 participating law firms this past year, the legal profession now has the data needed to measure inclusion – in addition to representation – of underrepresented lawyers on a large scale for the first time. The full results can be found in the 2022 Inclusion Blueprint Insights and the 2022 Inclusion Blueprint Practice Group Insights Report.
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About the Inclusion Blueprint
Background
The Inclusion Blueprint, a collaborative project between Diversity Lab and ChIPs, provides a first-of-its-kind tool to measure the representation of diverse lawyers and the career-enhancing inclusion activities that law firms can and should employ to ensure all of their lawyers — including those from historically underrepresented groups — have fair and equal access to quality work, influential people, and other opportunities.
The Inclusion Blueprint was initially created by Diversity Lab and launched in partnership with ChIPs in 2018 to measure and track the gender diversity and inclusion in firm leadership and Intellectual Property practice groups in law firms. With input and support from teams from the Spring and Fall 2018 Diversity in Law Hackathon series, the Inclusion Blueprint has since been expanded to track additional inclusion activities and to include underrepresented racial and ethnic lawyers, LGBTQ+ lawyers, and lawyers with disabilities in all practice groups.
Benefits of Participating
By participating in the Inclusion Blueprint, your firm and practice groups will have a roadmap of meaningful actions to take to continue investing in diverse talent and ensuring fair and equal access to career-building opportunities for all lawyers. As part of this process, Diversity Lab will score each firm, allowing firms to compare themselves against their peers and the industry. ChIPs will recognize the ChIPs Honor Roll Award firms.
With the information included in the Inclusion Blueprint, the more firms that participate, the better Diversity Lab can analyze and determine which inclusion activities have the biggest impact on achieving greater diversity representation. With this analysis available publicly, the legal profession can prioritize their efforts on the most meaningful actions to move the needle farther faster, and the Inclusion Blueprint can transition from being a blueprint for individual firms and practice groups to a blueprint for the entire legal industry.
The next Inclusion Blueprint Assessment will be released in January 2024. If your firm is interested in participating, please contact Amber Carter at ambercarter@diversitylab.com.
Knowledge Sharing
2022 Inclusion Champions Knowledge Sharing:
Watch these short videos that highlight the key actions that made the Firm Leadership Inclusion Champions stand out.
Watch recordings of the special two-part webinar series hosted in collaboration with Gina Passarella, Editor-in-Chief of The American Lawyer, to hear how leaders of the 2022 Practice Group Inclusion leverage their unique and influential positions to drive inclusion within their practice group.
2021 Inclusion Champions Knowledge Sharing:
Hear from leaders at the 2021 Inclusion Champions law firms discuss their trailblazing efforts related to Linking Compensation to Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion; Transparency in Pay, Promotions, and Performance Reviews; and Monitoring & Tracking Client Team Diversity and Direct Access.
Key Findings & Reports
Press Releases
Diversity Lab Press Release on the 2022 Inclusion Champions
Diversity Lab Press Release on the 2021 Inclusion Blueprint Findings & Champions
ChIPs Press Release on the 2021 ChIPs Honor Roll
Diversity Lab Press Release on the 2019 Inclusion Blueprint Champions
Strategic Planning Guides
Diversity Lab and ChIPs encourage law firms to leverage the Inclusion Blueprint Strategic Planning Guide (linked here) as a tool to strategically plan inclusion activities and processes at both the firmwide and practice group levels.