Baker Donelson attorney Sebastian Meis, an Atlanta shareholder and chair of the Firm's Corporate Group, participated in Diversity Lab's 2024 "Moments to Movements Hackathon" as part of a team of legal professionals that received an honorable mention for its pitch on DEI solutions.
Following five months of working together in structured teams, more than 100 legal department leaders, law firm partners, and DEI experts pitched their innovative solutions at Diversity Lab's 2024 "Moments to Movements Hackathon" to a dozen influential judges and more than 200 spectators.
The teams' solutions were focused on two challenges:
- Community: How to 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 to 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
Mr. Meis was a member of the Career Catalyst team, which pitched a solution that bridges the gap between mentorship and sponsorship programs by pairing high-potential, mid-level lawyers with experienced in-house counsel leaders. The program provides structured support, advocacy, and exposure to senior leaders, empowering mid-level lawyers to navigate complex career paths and reach their full potential.
The Career Catalyst team also included legal professionals from companies such as Airbnb, Amazon, American Express, and AutoZone. Photos of the team and their pitch can be found here.
This team was among several honorable mentions selected by the judges. The scoring focused on three key criteria: 1) impact potential, to ensure the solutions are scalable and have a long-term positive impact; 2) feasibility, ease of adoption, and potential for buy-in from stakeholders; and 3) measurability, how progress will be tracked and measured for impact.
The four winning solutions – as well as aspects from the remaining six pitches – will be further developed by Diversity Lab in 2024 and piloted with the hackers' organizations in 2025.
"Our past Hackathons in 2016 and 2018 generated industry-changing ideas, such as the Mansfield Rule and the Diversity Dividends Collective, that are now successful movements years later. Instead of a typical conference where industry leaders rehash the profession's inclusivity challenges over and over again – which often feels like Groundhog Day – the Hackathon provides a forum for actionable solutions. One hundred of the smartest leaders in law come together, craft ideas to tackle these challenges leveraging design thinking, and then work with Diversity Lab to put their ideas into action," said Caren Ulrich Stacy, Diversity Lab CEO.
About Diversity Lab: Diversity Lab designs, tests, and measures the outcomes of science-based and data-driven talent practices that allow for fair and equal access to advancement opportunities. Its primary focus is on leaders in law since they often rise to positions of influence in government, boardrooms, courtrooms, and beyond. The more diverse leadership is, the more inclusive and equitable the decisions for the benefit of the entire workforce and society. Inclusion is the goal, greater diversity – in leadership and beyond – is the result.