Contributors

Related

WBD Partner Daniel Attaway took part in the Diversity Lab’s Moments to Movements Hackathon, a shark-tank style pitch competition to solve some of the most challenging DEI issues facing the legal industry. The hackathon was the third hosted by Diversity Lab.

Attaway was a member of Team Up, who met weekly for approximately five months to come up with their team’s pitch—Mansfield Match. As envisioned by Team Up, Mansfield Match would be a digital sourcing platform designed to connect in-house counsel with law firm lawyers for potential legal services engagements and to expand their professional networks. The Match platform would allow law firm lawyers to profile their skills, background, commitment to DEI, and post videos to highlight their unique attributes. Team Up and Mansfield Match earned an honorable mention for the competition, and was the only talent retention solution to tackle equal access to economic opportunities through business networking.

Moments to Movements Hackathon participants collaborated in small teams from March to July 2024, receiving guidance from in-house team leaders and DEI experts. Together, they developed sustainable and scalable solutions to the following Hackathon challenges:

  • Community — What strategies could we implement to defend and strengthen DEI initiatives within the profession and individual organizations, ensuring resilience against downturns, leadership changes, anti-DEI rhetoric, and other challenges?
  • Inclusive Talent Systems — How could we enhance workplace practices and processes to guarantee fair and equal access to high-quality work, sponsorships, and business opportunities for all talent, particularly those historically underrepresented in the legal field?

On July 11, 2024, the teams presented their solutions live to a panel of esteemed judges and an audience of over 200 leaders at NYU School of Law. The pitches were assessed based on their potential impact, feasibility for adoption, and methods for measuring progress. Additional points were awarded for solutions that integrated remote work, accessibility, and collaboration between law firms and legal departments. The winning concepts were further developed by Diversity Lab and tested with the participating law firms and legal departments. The press release from Diversity Lab can be accessed here.

Recommended