Ms. Harris offered the advice recently when she served as moderator for a corporate counsel panel on diversity, which was held during the annual meeting of the North and South Carolina associations for black lawyers. The panel consisted of seven attorneys, including representatives of Wachovia Bank, N.A., First Union, the SAS Institute, Bank of America, Glaxo-Wellcome, Centura Bank and the N.C. Attorney General’s office.
"One out of every three people in America lives in the South. The South is becoming increasingly diverse and is perhaps the most diverse region in the country," Ms. Harris told the black lawyers. "With the prosperity that we are experiencing, it is important to broaden the base of those who are participating and sharing in it."
Members of the panel, who represented private corporations and state government, said their organizations each spend a varying amount every year for services provided by outside lawyers. Each of the panelists acknowledged that their companies actively are seeking the services of minority lawyers.
During a session attended by more than 100 attorneys, the panelists offered advice on what black lawyers can do to get a portion of that legal work.
"Litigation is one area of opportunity," said Sterling A. Spainhour, a senior vice president of Wachovia, which was a co-sponsor of the event. "We frequently use outside counsel for complex or time consuming litigation." He added that Wachovia, which implemented a supplier diversity program earlier this year, also hires outside firms for the legal services associated with real estate and construction transactions, labor and employment, mergers and acquisitions, as well as securities and tax matters.
"For us, it is important to be represented by counsel who understand the regulated environment in which financial institutions operate," said Spainhour. "Our products and services don’t always behave like the products and services of non-regulated entities. Understanding those regulations is critical to representing financial institutions."
Another key criterion is the ability to complete work "within a specified time frame," said Spainhour. "In today’s environment when you have multiple delivery channels in banking and an extremely competitive environment, it is important to develop and deliver products to market very quickly."
Panelists said their firms are looking for "smart, experienced" lawyers who are:
- Aggressive
- Willing to associate or work in partnership with majority firms in order to gain experience
- Able to offer innovative approaches and ideas
- Available and responsive
In addition to the panel discussion, representatives for the participating companies held one-on-one meetings with lawyers to explain how their firms operate and to determine the potential for future contractual work.
Ms. Harris commended the lawyers’ associations and the sponsoring corporations for taking the "forward step" to provide meaningful opportunities for African-Americans employed in the legal profession. Although government initiatives have focused primarily on construction and highway contracts, promoting diversity in professional services also is important, she said.
"Communication builds commerce," added R. Jonathan Charleston, chairman of the North Carolina Minority Council Program. "And people do business with people they know."
