Gina Kastel Speaks to Bloomberg Law About Designing Recruiting Pipelines to Support Diversity and Inclusion

Bloomberg Law reported in the article “Resume Gaps Lose Sting for Some Women Eyeing Return to Big Law” how law firms intent on improving their racial and gender diversity are rethinking historical recruiting pipelines. The article focuses on the challenges women who have taken a break and are looking to return to the legal industry face, and how Big Law’s recruitment strategies can address these challenges.

The publication spoke to executive partner Gina Kastel on how the legal industry is responding to these challenges and Faegre Drinker’s commitment to being an inclusive space.

“As I think about where the mindset of our newer lawyers is, Gen Z in particular, I think we’re going to see more people who choose to work for a while, take a break, do something different,” said Kastel.

“So, I just see this as an evolution in the way employers need to think about how they bring people into their firms, that those kinds of breaks are part of a life journey, and that we need to be respectful of that, and receptive to people who have made some of those choices. So I think it’s just changing a historic way of thinking about a career,” she added.

The piece highlights the Diversity Lab’s OnRamp initiative, which provides one-year paid fellowships for women who have taken time away from law. Faegre Drinker signed on to the initiative in November 2021.