Law Firms Lose Talent In-House Because of Diversity, GC Says

Law firms are facing a talent drain, a panelist declared at a law conference in Manhattan on Wednesday evening.

Sandra Leung, general counsel of Bristol-Myers Squibb, said that corporations are outperforming law firms at cultivating diversity, and, as a result, they are losing some of their best lawyers to in-house law departments.

“My compensation is based on achieving diversity goals,” Leung said, pointing out one way that her company has committed to achieving diversity. “We struggle, we make a lot of excuses, but I put my direct reports to the fire and say... it’s important to us to remain competitive.”

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