BCLP receives diversity, equity and inclusion award from McDonald’s Corporation

International law firm BCLP has received the McDonald’s EMPOWER Award for commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).

McDonald’s Global Legal Department announced this award in 2020 to recognize McDonald’s legal service suppliers that actively demonstrate the important role diversity, equity and inclusion play in their organizations.

In recognizing the two winning firms this year – BCLP and Riley Safer Holmes & Cancila LLP – McDonald’s said in its announcement, “Both firms share McDonald’s core values and demonstrate an innovative and strong commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. Through their work to embed and operationalize the principles of diversity, equity and inclusion into how they manage their organizations, these two firms have gone above and beyond to create and drive meaningful change.”

In an effort to actively shift the needle on global inclusion, BCLP in 2021 named Daisy Reeves the firm’s inaugural Global Inclusion & Diversity Client Relationship Partner. This was a first-of-its-kind role in the legal sector, where Daisy focuses exclusively on collaboration and thought leadership with clients and communities on best, and next, practice, in DEI.

“BCLP places a high priority on DEI – it is a core value of BCLP. It enriches the quality and fabric of our firm, our people and our clients. We are truly proud to have been recognized by our global client McDonald’s based on the shared values of our organizations,” Daisy said.

Across the firm’s 30 international offices, BCLP is focused on building itself as a global leader for inclusion and diversity (I&D) and harnessing and evolving I&D best practices.

“It’s an honor to be recognized by McDonald’s because we are continuously working to improve our approaches to nurture a culture of collaboration and belonging at BCLP that benefits our clients and communities,” said Global Director of Inclusion & Diversity and Recruitment for BCLP, Lloyd Stephenson.

BCLP's recognition as a McDonald's EMPOWER Award recipient is due to several noteworthy programs:

In 2017, BCLP helped pilot the Mansfield Rule and is currently Mansfield Plus Certified. The goal of the Mansfield Rule is to help support the representation of diverse lawyers (at least 30% women, lawyers of color, LGBTQ+ lawyers and lawyers with disabilities) in law firm leadership and overall by broadening the pool of candidates considered for leadership and other hiring opportunities. As a result, the firm has taken a hard look at how DEI can be operationalized in a law firm setting and made changes to recruitment, retention and training programs. In certain offices, BCLP has begun implementing a Matter Management/Work Allocation program designed to address disparities in hours and substance of work that could potentially negatively impact diverse attorneys. Developed through feedback from associates, the goal of the Matter Management/Work Allocation program is to ensure utilization of all BCLP associates from an efficiency, development and wellbeing perspective. BCLP also regularly holds workshops to help foster a “speak-up” culture and teach employees about the importance of psychological safety.

Additionally, in embracing accountability through metrics, in 2020 BCLP took bold action and enacted several I&D Aspirational Goals, including:

• 4% U.S. LGBTQ Partner Goal by 2026
• 15% U.S. / U.K. ethnic diversity representation
• 35% global Female Partner Goal by 2026, and
• 50% diversity in the aggregate of its partners by 2030.

“McDonald’s commitment to DEI is an important component of our relationship with McDonald’s and why we look forward to building on shared values,” said BCLP Partner Christian Poland, relationship lead. “We are so pleased to receive this recognition and we look forward to strengthening these ties in the future.”

BCLP is proud to continue advancing its deep commitment to diversity and inclusion through well-established goals, programs, campaigns and leadership engagement. To learn more, visit us here.