Apr 23, 2021
Kathryn talks with Kerry Shad and Sharita Whitaker, both partners at Smith Anderson. They talked about why they went to law school in the first place and how they found the practice areas that are right for them. They also get into Diversity & Inclusion nitty gritty like what D&I means to them, what D&I initiatives are necessary for law firms, the advantages of D&I programs in mid-sized firms compared to Biglaw, the impact of D&I on recruiting efforts, and how recruiting efforts compare to retention efforts. Also, they discuss how they balance the D&I efforts and firm management generally with their legal practices.
Episode Resources
- swhitaker@smithlaw.com
- kshad@smithlaw.com
Episode Highlights - Being a lawyer - 4:17
- Wanting to do real estate work - 7:24
- The opportunity to work in real estate - 9:14
- Being interested in litigation - 9:07
- Trying to prevent people’s problems - 10:30
- What does diversity and inclusion mean to them - 11:32
- D&I is everything - 13:32
- Seeing the growth of D&I efforts - 22:04
- Recruiting and retention - 23:43
- It’s all about opportunity - 25:25
- Being a part of a very diverse team - 32:50
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