American Lawyer Magazine: Law Firms Need Ombuds for Sexual Harassment Problem

The monthly law magazine published a commentary by Gwen Mellor, "Law Firms Need Informal Reporting Programs to Quash Sexual Harassment." The piece outlines steps firm leaders can take to improve reporting and resolving misconduct. Mellor urged firms to create an Ombuds that complies with IOA standards.

Leaders can stem the female flight from their firms. They can take a first step by anonymously surveying their employees to better understand their colleagues’ experiences at the firm. Management teams can leverage that survey data to bolster their existing programs for reporting and resolving misconduct. To ensure that employees have as many resources for reporting misconduct as possible, leaders should put ombuds programs in place. They should then conduct internal marketing campaigns to make certain that all employees are familiar with the firm’s different options for handling dispute resolution. And, perhaps most importantly, leaders should then prepare to hold their bad actors accountable if and when they are made aware of colleagues’ misconduct.

Mellor is a management consultant and strategist. (American Lawyer Magazine; LinkedIn.)

Related posts: Job Posting: DLA Piper; Kaye Scholer Implements Ombuds Program; Study Concludes Large Law Firms Should Have Ombuds; Altman Weil Endorses Ombuds Programs for Large Law Firms; Ombuds Can Mitigate High Costs of Internal Conflict for Law Firms; Chadbourne & Parke Ombuds Mentors Columbia Law Students; Law Firm of Shipman & Goodwin Appoints First Ombuds; CBA Magazine: Does Your Law Office Need an Ombuds?; Norton Rose Fulbright Appoints First Ombuds; Law Firm Ogletree Deakins Appoints New Ombuds