Mei Tsang, a prominent Orange County intellectual property lawyer, community leader, and partner at Umberg Zipser, authored an article published in the March 2018 edition of the OC Lawyer, a publication of the Orange County Bar Association titled “The Case for Diversity: Why it Matters and Why it is Hard to Achieve in the Legal Profession.”
The article explores misconceptions about diversity and why it is an important consideration in legal practices. Mei explains, “Even with the great diversity that exists in Orange County, the legal profession does not reflect any more diversity than the national average. It is well known that the legal industry is one of the least diverse professions in the nation despite the well-intentioned initiatives, policies, and programs.”
The article also discusses Montage Legal Group’s success, and quotes Montage’s co-owner/founder, Laurie Rowen.
These numbers contribute to the success of Montage Legal Group, started in Orange County, as a platform for freelance lawyers to practice law without the confines of the traditional model. Montage Legal receives over 100 résumés per month, mainly from women and minorities, and more and more white males, all wanting a different way to practice law in a career path outside traditional law firms. Why is there such a demand for their attorneys, who are mostly women? It has been scientifically proven that women and men are biologically different in many ways such as in how they think, interact, and feel. Couple that difference with their life experiences, many men and women approach problem solving differently.
Laurie Rowen had this to add: “A legal team made up of both men and women provides clients with different perspectives and ideas, leading to better results. Allowing our legal system to continue with primarily men as equity partners causes an imbalance not only in salaries, but could also stifle innovative ideas in clients’ cases and the legal field in general.”
To read the Mei’s full article, please see: The Case for Diversity: Why it Matters and Why it is Hard to Achieve in the Legal Profession.