SOME HISTORY RE OUR LDIA LABS
TIME TO WALK THE TALK!
In May 2021, we started the concept ‘LDIA LAB’ likened to a think tank with defined work streams and working groups in which LDIA members would come together (potentially with other third parties) to drive the DEI change agenda.
LDIA members were asked to commit to the success of the Labs and to nominate volunteers who are willing to actively participate. The LDIA Labs comprises volunteers with a strong personal commitment to action. Law firm leadership should be represented, but it is important to involve a gender-balanced mix of lawyers and business professionals from different age groups/levels of seniority. Law firms were invited to encourage associate participation (and to consider communicating that a block of dedicated LDIA Lab hours (to be set at each firm’s discretion) are treated as equivalent to billable hours for yearend review/bonus purposes).
The topic of diversity and inclusion has been discussed in corporates and law firms with more or less conviction for the last decade. We are aware that the legal profession is not only immensely privileged, but also influential. We are busy professionals, not politicians. We cannot change the world, but we can contribute to a fairer society, and that starts with diversifying the legal profession so that it is a better reflection of society.
Socio-economic diversity
In the past, we have idealized the concept of meritocracy – the belief that anyone can make it regardless of their background. However, experience shows that the system does not work that way. Access to the profession of law remains limited and exclusive. Although there is broad access to university and from there to the legal profession in Belgium, the drop-out rate is high among disadvantaged students who often lack the support, the tools, and the social codes that are implicitly needed to succeed.
Consequently, a first lab was started: socio-economic diversity with following principles:
- focus on young people and their journey from their final years of high school, through university and finding their first job;
- partner with our clients in this initiative and the bar associations;
- be inclusive, not just focusing on potential lawyers of the future, but demonstrating to young people the wide range of other professional opportunities associated with the law (and other businesses (marketing, HR, etc.)).
In the meantime LDIA started as well a LDIA Academy and a working group for female lawyers WLEG (𝗪𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻 & 𝗟𝗮𝘄 𝗘𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗽 (𝗪𝗟𝗘𝗚). This innovative program aims to address the critical issues women face in the legal profession and foster a more inclusive and equitable environment across the industry.