Diversity in the Legal Workplace: Exclusive Interview with Finnegan's First Managing Partner of Color

In an interview with World Trademark Review, Finnegan's managing partner Anand Sharma discusses diversity in the legal profession and steps Finnegan has taken over the past decade to address diversity at the firm. Anand served as the firm’s first partner-in-charge of Diversity and Inclusion over ten years ago. Now, as the firm’s first managing partner of color, he continues to push to attract a diverse set of applicants to Finnegan, which has proven to be a challenge given the firm’s specific focus solely on IP law. He said, “When you are singularly focused, you have to work harder to make your talent coming in diverse. You’re working with a smaller pool, whereas at a general practice firm, the pool is in a sense, unlimited.”

To address these challenges, Finnegan partners with law schools and organizations that focus on underrepresented groups. Since 2004, firm lawyers have taught classes on patent law at Howard University, a historically black college in Washington, D.C. Finnegan also partners with Microsoft in their work with the Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA) to give Hispanic law students the opportunity to come to Washington, D.C. and meet private practitioners, in-house counsel, and judges. Other programs include partnering with the Lavender Law Conference, which is run by the National LGBT Bar Association and offering a diversity scholarship to cover tuition and law school fees.

While attracting diverse candidates is the first step, Anand emphasizes the importance of retention and advancement. He said, “It’s not enough to have a diverse class that joins the firm, the effort has to be in retention and matriculation. It’s important that attorneys that join us see a path at the firm to partnership and management positions.” This perspective also reflects the firm’s adoption of the Mansfield Rule 2.0, which pledges that women, minorities, and LGBT attorneys will make up at least 30% of candidates for leadership positions. Anand also speaks to the impact of diversity on the firm’s clients. He said, “You get unique perspectives and different ideas to provide to the client. It’s better value than a situation where everyone in the room hears the client’s question the same way and thinks of a solution in the same way. [Clients are] now asking that when we staff our matters, to staff with diverse teams, not just in the associate ranks, but also in the partnership ranks as well as the lead counsels.”