Why we do what we do
Our Purpose
“We make a living by what we get,
but we make a life by what we give.”
– WINSTON CHURCHILL
Who/What is “The Lawt”?
The Lawt is a play on words and a reference to the inspiring trailblazers who made it possible for women to practice law.
When Columbia denied the first woman applicant to its law school, a representative complained: “Women’s Rights Women are uncommonly loud and offensive of late. I loathe the lot of them.”
“The lot of them” is our inspirational namesake: The bold women in law who challenged the status quo and fought tirelessly to equalize opportunities for marginalized legal professionals. The name “The Lawt” is intended to prompt questions and reflection on the values our industry was built upon and why our industry’s current makeup is problematic. It reminds us how far we’ve come and how far we have to go.
Our Mission
Growth on purpose
We believe the sincerest form of gratitude is building on the work of those before us. That means elevating women and minorities to leadership positions, advocating for more flexible and inclusive practices, and inspiring firms to build cultures that value people before profits.
With the stress and grind of billing hours in a deadline-driven, high-pressure environment, it’s reasonable to question why you went to law school in the first place. Burnout is inevitable without a greater sense of purpose. We encourage and inspire you to reconnect with your “why;” that’s our purpose as recruiters. Our purpose as a company is to advance racial, socioeconomic, and gender equality in the legal industry. Keep reading!
Our giving
Corporate Social Responsibility
The economist Milton Friedman famously wrote, “There is one and only one social responsibility of business: to increase its profits.” The Lawt not only rejects this ideology but finds it illogical. Profits are to business as oxygen is to our humanity: Critical to survival but not separate from our social responsibilities. Profits afford us more choices, and those choices reflect our values. Our responsibility is then not just to survive or even thrive but to use our success toward a greater purpose.
We use our success to advance equality for underrepresented groups in the workplace. Because companies don’t work in a vacuum, we not only can, but should, reinvest our profits in the communities in which we live and work.
Non-profits we have supported include:
Our Foundation
Core Values
We’re highly intentional about every business decision to ensure it is consistent with our values.
We believe that knowing your "why" creates greater happiness, fulfillment, performance and outcomes.
We apply creative and critical thinking to solve problems.
We are insatiable learners who commit to evolving our practices and processes to grow (know better, do better).
Our words are consistent with our actions, and we question actions that are inconsistent with our values.
How our values are reflected in our business decisions:
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We measure success by the quality of our work, not by revenue, through a donation to charity each time The Lawt receives a 5-star Google review.
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We own and fully explore solutions to any problems before transferring the intellectual or emotional labor to a teammate.
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We offer ongoing matches of employee donations to global disaster relief efforts.
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We created a pledge that encourages clients to prioritize DEI in their search parameters and holds them accountable to their commitments.
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We prioritize partnerships with clients who share our values and work to evolve and educate those that don’t.
Taking care of our employees
Wellness & Benefits
The Lawt’s investments in its communities begin with investments in its employees. We offer sustainable, flexible, and meaningful careers, because healthier people make for healthier communities.
We provide these unique employee wellness offerings and benefits:
- ANNUAL PAID VOLUNTEER DAY
- CALM SUBSCRIPTION
- UNLIMITED PTO
- NATIONAL DONUT DAY IS A COMPANY HOLIDAY
- WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS
- ANNUAL TEAM RETREATS
- VIRTUAL SOCIAL HOURS
- FREE BOOKS TO EMPLOYEES FOR QUARTERLY BOOK CLUB
- SPOT GIFTS (DESK TREADMILLS 2023)
- BIRTHDAY AND LIFE CELEBRATIONS
Creating an Equitable workplace
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion,
and Belonging (DEIB)
The Lawt approaches DEIB efforts – both internally and externally – as a conversation. What are the company
blind spots and what are the business goals? What practices are in place to support diverse hires and where is
there room to grow? Where does the market present challenges and how can we be resourceful in addressing
them? How can we help make the company a more welcoming environment to underrepresented groups?
How do we hold firms accountable to diversity numbers without tokenizing people?
DEIB is a complex topic, and we approach it with the nuance it deserves. We blend years of learning, research and market expertise with the humble mindset that we are still growing in this area – as an organization and a society.
Our goal is to leave the legal field better than we found it, and our collaborative approach calls our colleagues into conversations that foster growth on DEIB in an authentic and effective way.
Our Legacy
Join Us!
If you identify with our purpose and can see yourself being an ambassador of our values, please send your resume to hello@thelawt.com and tell us why you think you’d fit in.
Note: We are currently only considering candidates who have legal recruiting experience in an agency.
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Community on Purpose
10 Reasons Partners Lateral
After a decade of recruiting and supporting attorneys, I’ve compiled the most common reasons partners lateral their practices.
5 Benefits to Prioritizing Partnerships with Women- and Minority-Owned Businesses
The Lawt is a certified Women-Owned Business by the WBENC, but our certification is often overlooked and undervalued. Despite their professed importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion, law firms’ commitment to these values is questionable if their business decisions are inconsistent with that commitment. If dubious credibility isn’t motivating, law firms should consider these five compelling benefits to prioritizing partnerships with certified women- and minority-owned organizations:
The Lawt’s Approach to DEI: “Show, Don’t Tell”
The Lawt is committed to prioritizing DEI in all recruiting strategies. To demonstrate this, we recently published a case study to offer a transparent, quantitative analysis of our work.
