Nokia and the Minority Corporate Counsel Association (MCCA) have launched the Global Law Firm Diversity Survey, making it easier for law firms to assess and advance equity, inclusion and diversity (EI&D) initiatives, and participation is now open.
The “first of its kind tool” brings together existing Nokia and MCCA initiatives to form a single platform for global law firms to share their actions and showcase their commitment to EI&D.
The Global Law Firm Diversity Survey captures data on the diversity characteristics, including race and ethnicity, religious minorities, gender identity, disability status and LGBTQ+ status, and other business topics like leadership, recruitment, and management composition, to ensure a well-rounded picture.
The survey targets all regions except the US, where MCCA will continue to use its existing US survey and considers the differing legal and regulatory requirements and restrictions around data collection and processing.
Results will be made available for multiple companies and law firm clients, meaning firms no longer have to conduct multiple surveys on the same EI&D topics.
Nokia Legal and Compliance has been measuring the progress of some of its key panel law firms in building EI&D in their regional and global operations since 2021. The Global Law Firm Diversity Survey is part of their ongoing efforts to positively impact the legal and compliance profession.
Wanji Walcott, MCCA’s Board Chair and Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer &
General Counsel at Discover Financial Services said: “…Moving from making commitments to following through on them is absolutely crucial to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion, and we know that with the right data in hand, counsels’ offices worldwide can help their companies successfully transition from making pledges to taking action.”
Nassib Abou-Khalil, Nokia Chief Legal Officer, said: “Equity, inclusion and diversity are an
essential part of Nokia’s culture. Through the discussions we had with law firms participating in our EI&D programme, launched in early 2021, we came to understand the complexity of obtaining global data on the topic and the challenges that law firms face when having to complete similar exercises for multiple clients.
“We wanted to extend the impact of our project beyond Nokia and to collaborate with our partners to make a lasting, holistic and meaningful change. This important joint initiative with MCCA, a renowned advocate of diversity, provides law firms worldwide an opportunity to share and compare data and see how they are doing in comparison to peer companies in order to advance equity, inclusion and diversity in the legal profession.”
