What does "fit" mean in a diverse workplace?

In the past, many law firms hired for “fit” —  recruiting lawyers who fit in with a homogenous legal culture and posing a disadvantage to lawyers from diverse backgrounds. But many law firms are taking steps to change this for the better, experts say.

“The concept of ‘fit’ was really a coded reference to ‘a person like me’ or ‘a person I happen to like,’” says Tushara Weerasooriya, a partner with McMillan LLP in Toronto. “We most certainly are seeing a change in this perspective. Many firms have worked hard to move away from that narrow focus in recruitment.”

Weerasooriya says that her law firm has taken steps to limit the influence of unconscious biases in recruitment. 

“We have to accept that we all have unconscious biases that push us towards people who are more like us,” says Weerasooriya, who chairs McMillan LLP’s Inclusion and Diversity Council. “But we also have to understand that being aware of your own biases in every instance is not easy; we are all just human. So we made changes in our interview and recruitment processes to limit the effect of those biases. For example, in our law student recruitment process, we now ask all candidates standardized questions, and we evaluate each candidate based on established criteria.” 

Shereen Samuels, head of equity, diversity and inclusion at Gowling WLG, says that previously “fit” was a code word for “you need to think like us and look like us.” Law firm hiring practices are now evolving to consider essential qualities they are looking for in candidates.

“Now ‘fit’ could mean a lot of things,” says Samuels, based in Calgary. “It could mean, for instance, a positive attitude or a willingness to be innovative.”

Scott MacKendrick, a partner with Bereskin & Parr LLP in Toronto, agrees that “fit” does have a place in law firm recruitment.

“What you are looking for with respect to ‘fit’ isn’t whether these people share your interests. It’s about whether they share your values,” says MacKendrick, a member of the firm’s executive committee and the past chair of the firm’s diversity and inclusion committee. “You can’t not look for fit at all. If you do that, you are almost dooming that candidate to later failure because they may not fit with you and your firm, and they may not share your values.”

Hiring lawyers from diverse backgrounds is essential for law firms, adds MacKendrick. “Firms should be wanting to acquire the best talent,” he says. “That will ultimately determine whether firms succeed.”

Weerasooriya says that hiring diverse lawyers benefits both the lawyers themselves and the firm as a whole. “Addressing equity, diversity and inclusion and supporting the success and advancement of diverse legal professionals is both the right thing to do, and frankly, a necessity if Canada is to avoid falling behind in the global marketplace,” she says.

Law firm clients are also becoming more diverse, says Samuels. “Immigration is a trend that is not going away. Canada is just going to become more and more diverse,” she says. “Your organization should reflect the community. That ethnocultural diversity is beginning to be represented in the leadership of law firm clients.”

Diverse perspectives can also lead to better legal advice for clients, says MacKendrick. For example, as an intellectual property practitioner, MacKendrick advises clients on trademarks, including how an ordinary Canadian consumer would perceive a certain mark and whether it is distinctive. 

“If you are bringing that diverse team with those diverse perspectives — gender, ethnic background — you’re going to get a more representative answer about how the Canadian public is going to perceive a mark,” he says.
Ultimately, Samuels says that diversity initiatives should be considered innovation work. 

“It’s allowing innovative thought, new ideas, new perspectives,” she says. “If we are living in an era of a knowledge-based economy, then access to new ideas and perspectives is what is going to keep you current, it’s what is going to keep you ahead of the curve and what is going to keep you competitive.”

But often, developing a diverse workplace only happens with conscious effort.

MacKendrick says that law firms need policies to assist diversity and make their workplace a safe space and training and education sessions on topics such as unconscious bias. 

“There is an increased understanding that we don’t just need to be diverse; we need to be inclusive and create space where people can be who they are,” he says.

Samuels says she sees more workplaces considering whether they are consciously or unconsciously setting up barriers.

“People spent much of the ‘80s and ‘90s hoping that by doing sensitivity training, we would magically become nicer to each other and that our workplaces would magically become more diverse and inclusive. That doesn’t work,” she says. “People are now at the point where they realize that there has to be an intentionally sustained effort.”

Law firms need to be particularly mindful of retention of lawyers from diverse backgrounds, adds Samuels. “The problem tends to be less getting people to come than getting people to stay.”

She says that lawyers leave law firms because they cannot realistically see a path for themselves to leadership. “If you can see that people like you look safe and successful at senior levels, that is what convinces you that there is a pathway. It suggests to you that the culture has created space for that person,” says Samuels.

Many lawyers from diverse backgrounds face discrimination or microaggressions from others at the law firm either intentionally or unintentionally, adds Samuels. 

“Having all of these negative experiences can wear them down over time. Some people will survive that, but many people won’t,” she says. “We need to convince them to stay. We need to convince them that they can, in fact, thrive—not just grit their teeth and muscle the way through their whole career. That will require everyone to create a more psychologically safe environment.”

Creating a safe environment is vital, MacKendrick agrees. “Having a diverse workplace and a diverse working group will ensure that each person you have hired is the best at what you have hired them to do. But more than that, they will have the opportunity to be the best at what they do because they can be themselves and be authentic."