Oct. 17, 2018 – Dana Tippin Cutler, former president of the Missouri Bar, says “Courageous Collaboration” can help law firms and legal employers address the implicit bias we all carry with us, and improve communications and working relationships.

Tippin Cutler, who spoke this summer at the State Bar of Wisconsin’s 2018 Annual Meeting and Conference, helped developed the Courageous Collaboration program to promote diversity within law firms and the legal profession by talking about diversity.

“Courageous Collaboration created an opportunity for attorneys to discuss diversity issues, to have meaningful discussions,” said Tippin Culer, an attorney in Kansas City. “It’s all hinged on honest, authentic conversation, and gracious space.”

One of the biggest obstacles in having meaningful discussions about diversity issues is that people are afraid to speak candidly, Tippin Cutler said.

But committing to open and honest conversations, in a “gracious space,” allows people to open up about differing viewpoints, which can lead to meaningful solutions.

“Most people want colleagues to feel welcome. If you are spending money as a law firm to bring in diverse attorneys, and they come there and feel isolated, don’t feel welcome, don’t feel an opportunity to advance, they are going to leave,” Tippin Cutler said.

The Courageous Collaboration program gives law firms and legal employers the tools to ensure that attorneys feel they have a meaningful place within the firm, and the ability to be heard when implicit bias or other barriers may otherwise interfere the message.