Dykema Will Participate in Diversity Lab's 2024 Hackathon to Champion DE&I Initiatives

Dykema, a leading national law firm, announced today that it will participate in Diversity Lab’s “Moments to Movements Hackathon” on July 11, 2024. Hosted at NYU School of Law, this innovative event will bring together more than 100 leaders from law firms and corporate legal departments to address the most pressing challenges in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) within the legal profession. Sherrie Farrell, Dykema's Chief Diversity Officer, and Laura Baucus will attend and participate.

These leaders are working together in small teams from March to July 2024 – with guidance from in-house team leaders and DEI experts – to collaborate, ideate, and offer sustainable and scalable solutions to the following Hackathon challenges:

• Community — How can we defend and fortify DEI across the profession and in each organization to withstand downturns, leadership changes, anti-DEI rhetoric, and other headwinds?
• Inclusive Talent Systems — How can we improve workplace practices and processes to ensure fair and equal access to high-quality work, sponsors, and business/clients to level the playing field for all talent, including historically underrepresented lawyers? 

The Hackathon, designed in a “Shark Tank”-style format, will feature 10 teams that will pitch their creative solutions to combat anti-DEI rhetoric and ensure equal access to high-quality work for underrepresented attorneys. A panel of esteemed judges, along with event attendees, will select the most impactful ideas to receive funding and implementation support. 

Diversity Lab has a history of spearheading influential DEI initiatives, including the Mansfield Rule and the Diversity Dividends Collective. These programs have set benchmarks in improving diversity within legal teams and creating more inclusive talent management practices. The upcoming Hackathon is expected to build on this legacy, encouraging collaboration and innovation among DEI leaders.

About Diversity Lab

Diversity Lab is an incubator for innovative ideas and solutions that boost diversity and inclusion in law. Experimental ideas are created through our Hackathons and piloted in collaboration with more than 250 top law firms and legal departments across the country. Diversity Lab leverages data, behavioral science, design thinking, and technology to further develop and test new ideas and research, measure the results, and share the lessons learned. For more information, visit www.diversitylab.com.