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Diversity — A Business Necessity and a Source of Strength

A Q&A with Brad Smith, Senior Vice President, General Counsel, Microsoft
September 7, 2007

Many large corporations feel that having a diverse workforce is a prerequisite for doing business on a global level. This surge has driven law firms to bolster their diversity initiatives and find ways to ensure the recruitment, retention and promotion of a diverse work force.

In the following Q&A, with Owen Pell, partner in the New York office, Brad Smith, General Counsel at White & Case client Microsoft shared his insights about the importance of diversity, particularly as it impacts the client-law firm relationship. Click here to learn more about White & Case's commitment to diversity.

Q. What is the importance of diversity to Microsoft?

Smith: Diversity is something we treat as a business necessity. We have employees and subsidiaries in more than a hundred countries. To better understand our customers, we need to be like the world in terms of the nationalities that make up our company, and have a strong balance of men and women of different races, religions and ethnic backgrounds. At Microsoft, we don't feel that we can truly succeed as a company unless we are as diverse as the world we serve.

Q. How important is it to you that a law firm be diverse as well?

Smith: Particularly over the course of the last five or ten years, diversity has become quite important to us and to the corporate community, for a couple of reasons. As clients, we look at law firms as extensions of ourselves; we are partners together. So, if our company is diverse, but the law firms with whom we work are not, then we're really not as diverse as we ought to be. Second, we recognize that if we are going to become more diverse over time, it will ultimately be because we are going to hire great people who represent diverse communities. Quite frankly, we expect law firms to expose us to great people who, in some cases, we hope, will come work for us directly in the years ahead.

Q. How did Microsoft achieve diversity?

Smith: It's been a long process, and it's never over. It takes years of work to develop a reputation for being a good place to work. One of the most important keys to this success is attracting diverse people who, in turn, go out and spread the word that your firm is a great place to work. It is something that you need to keep doing, otherwise you will slide backwards, especially in a world where other companies and competitors are valuing diversity and working to get ahead of you and recruit great diverse people away from you. You can not take things for granted.

Q. Have law firms lost your business for lack of diversity?

Smith: We give feedback to law firms on an ongoing basis. When we found a lack of diversity, we addressed it with the client, and the good news is that those firms took remedial action before it ever got to the point of us terminating the relationship. I don't believe that any law firm today can be top-of-class in the United States or the world without taking diversity to heart. It is, in my opinion, as much a business imperative for any truly great law firm as it is for a company that aspires to be truly great.

Q. In your relationship with White & Case, what do you see as some of the firm's strengths?

Smith: We are a large department ourselves; about 350 lawyers distributed around the world. What I love about the team at White & Case is they adapt so well to a teamwork environment, even when the group is made up of people who come from many different backgrounds. They strike the right balance of standing up for what they believe is right for the client and telling us what we need to hear, and ultimately making that harmoniously come together with everyone's ideas working together in a spirit of genuine teamwork. It makes a huge difference.

	In the Media
Locations New York	Diversity — A Business Necessity and a Source of Strength A Q&A with Brad Smith, Senior Vice President, General Counsel, Microsoft September 7, 2007 Many large corporations feel that having a diverse workforce is a prerequisite for doing business on a global level. This surge has driven law firms to bolster their diversity initiatives and find ways to ensure the recruitment, retention and promotion of a diverse work force. In the following Q&A, with Owen Pell, partner in the New York office, Brad Smith, General Counsel at White & Case client Microsoft shared his insights about the importance of diversity, particularly as it impacts the client-law firm relationship. Click here to learn more about White & Case's commitment to diversity. Q. What is the importance of diversity to Microsoft? Smith: Diversity is something we treat as a business necessity. We have employees and subsidiaries in more than a hundred countries. To better understand our customers, we need to be like the world in terms of the nationalities that make up our company, and have a strong balance of men and women of different races, religions and ethnic backgrounds. At Microsoft, we don't feel that we can truly succeed as a company unless we are as diverse as the world we serve. Q. How important is it to you that a law firm be diverse as well? Smith: Particularly over the course of the last five or ten years, diversity has become quite important to us and to the corporate community, for a couple of reasons. As clients, we look at law firms as extensions of ourselves; we are partners together. So, if our company is diverse, but the law firms with whom we work are not, then we're really not as diverse as we ought to be. Second, we recognize that if we are going to become more diverse over time, it will ultimately be because we are going to hire great people who represent diverse communities. Quite frankly, we expect law firms to expose us to great people who, in some cases, we hope, will come work for us directly in the years ahead. Q. How did Microsoft achieve diversity? Smith: It's been a long process, and it's never over. It takes years of work to develop a reputation for being a good place to work. One of the most important keys to this success is attracting diverse people who, in turn, go out and spread the word that your firm is a great place to work. It is something that you need to keep doing, otherwise you will slide backwards, especially in a world where other companies and competitors are valuing diversity and working to get ahead of you and recruit great diverse people away from you. You can not take things for granted. Q. Have law firms lost your business for lack of diversity? Smith: We give feedback to law firms on an ongoing basis. When we found a lack of diversity, we addressed it with the client, and the good news is that those firms took remedial action before it ever got to the point of us terminating the relationship. I don't believe that any law firm today can be top-of-class in the United States or the world without taking diversity to heart. It is, in my opinion, as much a business imperative for any truly great law firm as it is for a company that aspires to be truly great. Q. In your relationship with White & Case, what do you see as some of the firm's strengths? Smith: We are a large department ourselves; about 350 lawyers distributed around the world. What I love about the team at White & Case is they adapt so well to a teamwork environment, even when the group is made up of people who come from many different backgrounds. They strike the right balance of standing up for what they believe is right for the client and telling us what we need to hear, and ultimately making that harmoniously come together with everyone's ideas working together in a spirit of genuine teamwork. It makes a huge difference.