Comments on: Towards diversity in law firms http://www.law21.ca/feeder/?FeederAction=clicked&feed=Comments+on+Articles+%28RSS2%29&seed=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.law21.ca%2F2008%2F04%2F23%2Ftowards-diversity-in-law-firms%2F%23comment-&seed_title=Towards+diversity+in+law+firms Dispatches from a legal profession on the brink Wed, 21 Jul 2010 03:26:41 +0000 hourly 1 By: Jordan Furlong http://www.law21.ca/feeder/?FeederAction=clicked&feed=Comments+on+Articles+%28RSS2%29&seed=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.law21.ca%2F2008%2F04%2F23%2Ftowards-diversity-in-law-firms%2F%23comment-92&seed_title=Towards+diversity+in+law+firms/comment-page-1/#comment-92 Jordan Furlong Fri, 25 Apr 2008 15:38:01 +0000 http://jordanfurlong.wordpress.com/?p=135#comment-92 By all means, Ralph -- thanks very much, and I'm glad you liked it! By all means, Ralph — thanks very much, and I’m glad you liked it!

]]> By: Ralph E Jordan http://www.law21.ca/feeder/?FeederAction=clicked&feed=Comments+on+Articles+%28RSS2%29&seed=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.law21.ca%2F2008%2F04%2F23%2Ftowards-diversity-in-law-firms%2F%23comment-91&seed_title=Towards+diversity+in+law+firms/comment-page-1/#comment-91 Ralph E Jordan Fri, 25 Apr 2008 15:23:44 +0000 http://jordanfurlong.wordpress.com/?p=135#comment-91 Jordan Furlong, I just finished reading your very clear, cogent, and compelling articulation of the need for Diversity and Inclusion in law firms, and very kind words toward Verna. I want you to know that we all really appreciate your support for the cause. May we point to your blog entry (on our website) as a definitive case reference for more law firms taking action? Jordan Furlong,
I just finished reading your very clear, cogent, and compelling articulation of the need for Diversity and Inclusion in law firms, and very kind words toward Verna. I want you to know that we all really appreciate your support for the cause.
May we point to your blog entry (on our website) as a definitive case reference for more law firms taking action?

]]> By: Vulcan's Forge http://www.law21.ca/feeder/?FeederAction=clicked&feed=Comments+on+Articles+%28RSS2%29&seed=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.law21.ca%2F2008%2F04%2F23%2Ftowards-diversity-in-law-firms%2F%23comment-90&seed_title=Towards+diversity+in+law+firms/comment-page-1/#comment-90 Vulcan's Forge Fri, 25 Apr 2008 00:59:22 +0000 http://jordanfurlong.wordpress.com/?p=135#comment-90 "...a surfeit of commonality lacks any number of essential ingredients to be a top-notch solutions provider: a wealth of perspectives, a broad pool of knowledge, creative dissent, constructive self-doubt, an eye for unanticipated outcomes, and most importantly, an ability to see every angle of the multi-faceted challenges clients bring..." I suspect this is not isolated to the legal community. It's definitely visible in the IT world and is equally damaging. I would add that it leads to (or is fed by) the growth of a bureaucratic mentality: a refusal to consider new ideas, an insistence on unnecessary process, demands for accountability rather than responsibility. Although I'm not a lawyer, I believe that "commonality" is desirable in the legal profession as it stands now for the same reason it's desirable in the computing profession: commonality is easy, and therefore cheap. It's easy to train people when everything is done the same way, and relatively speaking you don't have to pay them as much. And just like the legal profession, the "one size fits all" solution is for the most part never appropriate in the IT world either. “…a surfeit of commonality lacks any number of essential ingredients to be a top-notch solutions provider: a wealth of perspectives, a broad pool of knowledge, creative dissent, constructive self-doubt, an eye for unanticipated outcomes, and most importantly, an ability to see every angle of the multi-faceted challenges clients bring…”

I suspect this is not isolated to the legal community. It’s definitely visible in the IT world and is equally damaging. I would add that it leads to (or is fed by) the growth of a bureaucratic mentality: a refusal to consider new ideas, an insistence on unnecessary process, demands for accountability rather than responsibility.

Although I’m not a lawyer, I believe that “commonality” is desirable in the legal profession as it stands now for the same reason it’s desirable in the computing profession: commonality is easy, and therefore cheap. It’s easy to train people when everything is done the same way, and relatively speaking you don’t have to pay them as much.

And just like the legal profession, the “one size fits all” solution is for the most part never appropriate in the IT world either.

]]>