A path for diverse talent to rise to the top in the legal sector
We speak with Daniel Winterfeldt MBE QC (Hon), Managing Director and General Counsel for EMEA and Asia at the global investment bank Jefferies, and Founder and Chair of the InterLaw Diversity Forum. His initial goal for the InterLaw Diversity Forum in 2008 was to foster inclusion in the legal sector for diverse talent and promote meritocracy in all sectors by working to ‘level the playing field’, to create environments where the best talent can succeed.
Since its founding, the InterLaw Diversity Forum has expanded its scope beyond LGBT+ to encompass all strands of diversity and inclusion, including race and ethnicity, disability, gender, and social mobility, with a particular focus on cultural change in the workplace and ‘multiple identities’/intersectionality. The InterLaw Diversity Forum currently has over 8,500 members and supporters from over 800 law firms, corporates and financial institutions. To find out more, please see: www.interlawdiversityforum.org
Interview by Armin Forstner
Daniel, what inspired you to found InterLaw Diversity Forum in the first place?
I founded the InterLaw Diversity Forum in 2008, ten years into my career, after having made the level of partner in a law firm for the first time. As someone who had been openly gay since university, after reaching this milestone in my career, I felt I could finally ‘exhale’ and take stock of my journey, including the successes and challenges along the way.
Having faced many barriers and obstacles in my professional and personal life, I wanted to support LGBT+ talent in the legal sector and encourage other employers to do the same.
My goal was not just to change the law firm that I worked at, but to transform the legal sector as a whole to make it easier for LGBT+ and other diverse talent to rise to the top of the profession.
How has the legal sector changed in the past 13 years when it comes to diversity and inclusion?
