5 December: Bi-monthly LDIA meeting – closing another wonderful year 2023
30 November: International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women (Nov 25)
Interactive All Together, coordinated by Morrison & Foerster together with Gibson Dunn & Crutcher for LDIA.
The Legal Diversity & Inclusion Alliance organized an interactive and immersive workshop on Thursday November 30, in collaboration with The Bridge Theatre, Brussels, in honor of the International Day for the elimination of violence against women.
What would you do if you witnessed harassment at work or in a public space? 86% of people do not know how to react when witnessing sexual harassment. Yet a few simple techniques can help victims.
The immersive training sessions enabled participants to learn effective actions against sexual harassment through practical scenarios using a 5D Method.
LDIA bi-monthly meeting – September 21 – Workshop Understanding Cultural Agility
As we acknowledge and celebrate European Heritage days, the Legal Diversity & Inclusion Alliance was delighted to explore cultural diversity during a session co-developed and hosted by Squire Patton Boggs.
Our guest speaker, Maria Josefina Calderon, spoke to 20+ law firms about the importance of cultural agility and varying worldviews.
“In the famous words of St. Exupery’s Little Prince, “Essential things are invisible to the eye.” This is especially true when communicating across diverse cultural contexts.
“If we wish to work successfully with people from around the world, it is essential to have an appreciation of and respect for cultural differences. So it is crucial to take the time and make the effort to discover and understand the worldviews hidden below the surface of our counterparts from different parts of the world.” M.J. Calderon
LDIA bi-monthly meeting – June 20 – Workshop ‘A new problem that has no name’
During our recent bi-monthly meeting, Nathalie Delaere (she/her) presented key findings on career obstacles in the financial sector, as well as tools how to remediate. Unfortunately quite comparable to our legal sector. Thank you Nathalie for an insightful workshop.
#corporateculture #leadership #careeropportunities #ldia
LDIA joined Open at Work at the Belgian Pride on May 20.
Photographer: Eric Danhier, Copyright: The Belgian Pride
All LDIA members celebrated IDAHOT on May 17.
During our LDIA bi-monthly meeting on Tuesday, April 25 we welcomed DEI specialist Tamara Makoni at the offices of Liedekerke.
Tamara gave a workshop re: ‘5 steps to build a culture of inclusion’.
Tamara Makoni is an inclusion specialist who helps leaders embed inclusion into processes and systems to empower diverse talent. Based in Brussels, she works with clients in Belgium and abroad as a facilitator, speaker, and strategic advisor, and is founder & CEO of Kazuri Consulting.
On Thursday, March 9, LDIA celebrated International Women’s Day at the offices of Steptoe.
PROGRAMME
12.00 pm: Lunch
12.30 pm – 2 pm: Panel Discussion #Embrace Equity in law
PANEL MEMBERS
Veerle Lerut, Senior Associate, Cazimir
Marieke Wyckaert, Professor at the Jan Ronse Institute & at the University of Leuven
Mieke Van den Broeck, Attorney, Progress Lawyers Network
Isabel Rosendor, Co-founder DICE Legal Recruitment
MODERATOR
Kat Van Nuffel, Co-Chair LDIA, Director Steptoe
On Tuesday, February 28, LDIA organized her next bi-monthly meeting on biases, organized and animated by Inclusion Now. The meeting was hosted by DLA Piper.
On 31 January LDIA celebrated her 4th anniversary of the launch of LDIA
Thanks to our LDIA members who joined us yesterday evening to celebrate the 4th anniversary of the launch of the Legal Diversity & Inclusion Alliance. Kathleen M. (Kat) Van Nuffel welcomed everyone and took the opportunity to remind us why LDIA was founded and what our Alliance stands for.
Fiona Carlin from Baker McKenzie introduced the theme of the evening: Promoting socio-economic diversity in law firms.
A first conversation was engaged by Philippe Lion with Sophie Englebert, Managing Director at Be.Face, in which she shared their approach, from mentoring to organizing internships for students.
A second conversation was engaged by Niels De Waele with Pieter De Witte, Managing Director at “Toekomst atelier de l’avenir” (TADA).
This was followed by a panel discussion on “why this initiative matters”, moderated by Niels De Waele in conversation with Laila Kouchi (Associate, Baker McKenzie), Sonia Belhassen (Associate, Clifford Chance), Tamara Nouwen (HR Officer Allen & Overy) and Soulaimane Ali (TADA Alumnus).
They shared lively and very interesting personal experiences, from being a mentee to becoming a mentor, and the importance of equal chances for everyone who starts legal studies.
Fiona Carlin engaged an open discussion with the audience on the way forward.
She acknowledged that we are still learning and are willing to improve our approach but it takes time to create a mindset shift when hiring in law firms.
The question was also raised about the very high level of expectations with regards to grades and LL.M’s when hiring lawyers.
Our offer for support and guidance should open up to all roles in law firms, not only lawyers.
The event ended with a networking cocktail.
Photo album, click here.