On September 8, 2015, Sheryl L. Axelrod, President of The Axelrod Firm, served on a panel with Kendall Mills, Counsel at Allstate, Deedee Litwin, Director of Legal at Merck, and Stephanie Scharf of Scharf Banks Marmor LLC, moderated by Nate Saint-Victor, Executive Director in the Legal and Compliance Division of Morgan Stanley, at the NAMWOLF (National Association of Minority and Women Owned Law Firms) Annual Meeting in Hollywood California. The panel, which addressed an audience of exclusively in-house counsel, discussed the “Minority/Majority Partnership Report,” partnerships between NAMWOLF law firms, which are owned by women and/or minorities, and majority-owned law firms meaning generally large, traditional law firms that are not 51% or greater owned by women or minorities.
Opportunities abound for these majority/NAMWOLF partnerships, which have the potential to send stunning, diversity-enhancing ripple effects through the profession. Such partnerships can be a win-win for clients and their law firms, but there can also be challenges in such collaborations. The panel discussed best practices for developing effective majority/NAMWOLF partnerships, offered creative models for successful outside counsel teams, and gave guidance on pitfalls to avoid.