Reed
Smith,
long
recognized
as
a
Gold
Standard
Firm
by
the
Women
In
Law
Empowerment
Forum
(WILEF),
has
done
away
with
all
of
the
diversity
shit
it
professed
as
near
and
dear
to
its
heart
for
the
last
decade
or
so.
I’d
link
you
to
them
bragging
about
how
important
diversity
is
to
them,
but
that’s
kind
of
the
story
here.
They’re
pulling
a
K&L
Gates
on
all
of
their
diversity-forward
messaging.
The
article
praising
Katy
Basile
for
how
her
“mentorship
of
the
firm’s
Black
junior
attorneys
earned
her
recognition
as
a
“Top
US
Advocate”
on
EMpower’s
Ethnic
Minority
Role
Model
List”
is
still
up
at
the
time
I’m
writing
this,
but
in
the
near
future
you
may
have
to
rely
on
the
Wayback
machine
to
find
any
proof
of
Reed
Smith’s
(former)
commitments
to
diversity.
Bloomberg
Law
has
coverage:
Global
law
firm
Reed
Smith
is
doing
away
with
the
DEI
branding
for
hiring
and
promotion
in
response
to
a
workplace
discrimination
probe
by
the
Equal
Employment
Opportunity
Commission.Reed
Smith
will
“retire
our
DEI
program,”
global
managing
partner
Casey
Ryan
said
Tuesday
in
a
firmwide
viewed
by
Bloomberg
Law.
The
firm
instead
“will
provide
offerings
going
forward
under
the
banner
‘Culture
&
Engagement,’”
she
said.
If
you’re
going
for
a
rebrand,
why
not
lean
into
it
and
just
house
everything
under
the
banner
of
“Good
Vibes”
or
“Thoughts
and
Prayers”?
Stacy
Hawkins,
a
Rutgers
Law
professor
quoted
in
the
article,
does
a
great
job
of
refocusing
the
reader
on
the
fact
that
it
doesn’t
really
matter
what
these
firms
call
their
nouveau
diversity
attempts.
Is
your
program
—
by
design
or
consequence
—
geared
toward
the
historically
disenfranchised?
Full
stop.
No?
Then
stop
aura
farming
and
be
upfront
that
you’re
killing
your
DEI
program
because
it
would
either
cost
too
much
to
maintain
or
you
were
looking
for
an
excuse
to
get
rid
of
it
anyway.
If
the
answer
is
yes,
prepare
for
the
upcoming
lawsuits
and
ask
Perkins
Coie
or
Davis
Wright
Tremaine
to
exchange
notes
with
you.
Because
even
if
the
new
name
for
your
program
is
facially
neutral,
you’re
still
in
hot
water
if
the
program
benefits
women
and
other
minorities
by
proxy.
And,
for
fear
that
the
term
“Stay
Woke”
has
lost
all
meaning,
keep
your
damn
eyes
open.
There’s
a
lot
of
talk
about
the
need
to
get
rid
of
DEI
programs
because
they
are
actually
quota
requirements
that
force
employers
to
hire
“inferior
workers”,
but
why
isn’t
this
energy
consistent
whenever
some
highly
qualified
applicant
gets
excluded
from
the
hiring
pool?
Where
is
this
energy
when
decorated
generals
get
replaced
by
TV
show
hosts?
That’s
the
thing
about
actual
functioning
meritocracies
—
make
all
the
arguments
you
want
for
the
inherent
tendencies
toward
hierarchy
and
exclusion
that
arise
from
highly
competitive
talent
pools,
but
the
outcomes
are
only
valid
if
the
field
to
compete
is
actually
open.
Bear
in
mind
that
the
discourse
on
“merit”
is
happening
at
the
same
time
that
we’re
seeing
brilliant
students
and
employees
get
their
student
and
work
visas
revoked,
preventing
them
from
competing
for
“American”
jobs.
Or
while
reporters
who
just
happen
to
be
dating
a
Congress
member
get
put
in
a
position
to
ask
foreign
leaders
about
outfit
choices.
That
isn’t
meritocracy
—
that’s
power
naturalizing
its
propensity
to
exclude
members
of
the
out
group
as
“the
way
things
are,”
which
precludes
discussions
of
equity
or
inclusion
as
they
relate
to
merit.
That
may
have
gotten
a
little
heady.
Reed
Smith
got
rid
of
their
diversity
program.
That’s
the
take
away.
Chris
Williams
became
a
social
media
manager
and
assistant
editor
for
Above
the
Law
in
June
2021.
Prior
to
joining
the
staff,
he
moonlighted
as
a
minor
Memelord™
in
the
Facebook
group Law
School
Memes
for
Edgy
T14s.
He
endured
Missouri
long
enough
to
graduate
from
Washington
University
in
St.
Louis
School
of
Law.
He
is
a
former
boatbuilder
who
is
learning
to
swim, a
published
author
on
critical
race
theory,
philosophy,
and
humor,
and
has
a
love
for
cycling
that
occasionally
annoys
his
peers.
You
can
reach
him
by
email
at [email protected] and
by
tweet
at @WritesForRent.