WHERE THE TALENT IS: JULIETTE PRYOR’S KEYS TO DEVELOPING A DIVERSE TEAM

While many may claim it is difficult to develop diverse talent in law departments, Juliette Pryor seems to manage this repeatedly with ease.

Pryor, Executive Vice President and General Counsel at Albertsons Companies, has built a stellar reputation for helping her subordinates gain the skills and experience to become general counsels. At least eight lawyers who were former direct reports have now achieved that title, and many others are sure to reach that level in the years to come. Pryor’s disciples are diverse: they come from all walks of life and have varying backgrounds – proving that her methods work for everyone. By Joyce Jones

DEI STRATEGY

JULIETTE PRYOR HAS COMBINED BEST PRACTICES from what she learned as a lawyer for IBM and the Skadden Arps law firm; valuable mentoring and growth experiences gained as deputy general counsel and then general counsel of US Foods; and the experience of building and leading law departments at US Foods and Cox Enterprises. Now at Albertsons Companies, she is once again building a department with high-powered diverse talent at its core. In this exclusive interview, Pryor shares her insight into nurturing diverse talent in legal departments – and why this is so important.

BIHC: Companies often complain that they have challenges sourcing and developing Black talent. You have a track record of excellence in this area. What is your approach to seeking out and recruiting talented Black attorneys?

Juliette Pryor: I think the key is casting a broad net for talent, ensuring that your recruiters understand you want a diverse set of candidates, and to be thoughtful about what the key qualities of the role are. It’s also important to think critically about the places that talent might come from that provide the right kind of experiences and the right kind of skillset needed for the role. The more thoughtful you are about that, the better chance you have of casting a wider net and thereby seeing more diverse people in the recruitment pool.

BIHC: What kinds of talent and skillsets do you look for?

JP: It varies depending on the role, but I look for demonstration of really great judgment, a level of nimbleness, a tendency toward being commercially oriented and intellectual curiosity. I have found that those kinds of qualities in people coming from different walks of life is what is more determinative about an individual being successful in many legal department roles.

BIHC: Once you’ve determined what qualities you’re looking for, what’s the next step?

JP: Your panel of interviewers should have diverse experience and perspectives and be equipped with measurements that force more objectivity, not just who they personally clicked with. It should be based on qualities that you want to see in that particular role.

BIHC: Do you give guidance to recruiters when they are seeking diverse talent? Do you suggest what interviewers might ask diverse candidates?

JP: I don’t give guidance to recruiters on how to screen talent, or what interviewers should ask candidates. What I do is share guidance on where to go and source, on the key qualities we want and on how serious and committed I am to seeing a diverse slate. That includes giving feedback when a slate comes back that’s not diverse.

BIHC: Are there any other sources you turn to when seeking talent besides recruiters?

JP: Our recruiters often utilize social media or engage organizations that have a focus on membership from underrepresented groups. We also encourage our team to tap their internal networks to help us ensure that we are casting a wide net.

BIHC: What are you doing to nurture and advance diverse talent once they come on board?

JP: One of my responsibilities as a leader is to develop all of our talent. That includes ensuring there are systems and practices in place to not leave people out of opportunities to get stretch assignments, to get visibility in the business and to be able to work in different areas in the business.

I also strive to ensure that people are getting real-time feedback along the way – not just annual reviews. We encourage all of our lawyers to seek feedback from both our clients and the leaders to whom they report, and to have a sense of ownership of their own journey and development. We want to create an expectation and a culture where that dialogue and feedback is a part of the experience that we nurture within the department for all of our folks.

BIHC: So how do you nurture people and make sure they’re getting the feedback they need?

JP: In part it’s about ensuring that I have set a vision and expectation that is clearly articulated about our responsibility as senior leaders in the legal department – that we create the time and space and resources for that type of investment, development and feedback. I set an example in the way that I lead, and I hold my leaders accountable for spending that time to invest in the talent that reports to them.

BIHC: Have you found any methods that minimize the chance that interviewers will simply select the person they click with best?

JP: Often, what we think is most similar to us is perhaps someone being the same gender or of the same ethnic or racial background or having similar years of experience, or similar geography. But if we equip people with questions that focus on other skills and qualities that will really benefit

“As a leader who believes in the value of diversity and as a diverse lawyer who has had the experience of having people investing in me, helping me build my skills, and giving me the time and the gift of feedback so I could grow and learn, I am very, very intentional about doing the same for every lawyer that I have on my team.”

the department and help the talent be successful in the role, we help people to get beyond those surface qualities and into deeper areas of understanding and connection. We can be equipped with the right questions and tools and assessments to get beyond what could otherwise be just surface-level screening.

BIHC: What do you say to people who say that there’s not enough senior Black talent in the field of law?

JP: I think it’s a true statement. The stats speak for themselves. The numbers fall off absolutely both in corporate America and in private practice, so it’s something that we have to continually be focused on: to recruit, attract, develop and retain Black talent in our organization. It’s not something that happens just because we wish it to. We have to be intentional about it.

BIHC: Is Black talent more interested in going to white shoe law firms or coming to in-house legal department roles?

JP: There is no issue with Black talent having an interest in coming in-house. And I would challenge anyone who said the challenge is they can’t get diverse talent.

I think the bigger issue is, what do you do when the talent gets there? Are you giving recruits meaningful work? Are you providing opportunities for growth and development? What are you doing to retain that talent? And that’s across the board; not just for Black lawyers. What are you doing for all of your folks to demonstrate that you’re invested in their success and their growth?

When you add factors around diversity including a candidate’s ethnic background, sexual orientation, or otherwise, that talent is even more sought after. If you’re not demonstrating your investment in that talent, then I think you should consider that talent to be at risk of somebody else scooping them up.

BIHC: Why is having a diverse law department important to you?

JP: First and foremost, I believe that diverse teams are more effective and generate better ideas and solutions for the business in the long run. If I’m trying to have a brainstorm with a group of people, if we all have the same life experiences, it’s not going to be much of a storm. So I want to bring people from different experiences, from different walks of life, different profiles and that’s what I want to see on my team so that we can really be the type of thought partner that the legal function seeks to be for the business here at Albertsons.

And secondly, I believe that the challenges of underrepresentation that we see in the legal profession and in other settings cannot be overcome if each of us is not doing our part to be intentional around seeking, attracting, recruiting and developing diverse talent. Otherwise, we perpetuate what we have.

As a leader who believes in the value of diversity and as a diverse lawyer who has had the experience of having people investing in me, helping me build my skills and giving me the time and the gift of feedback so I could grow and learn, I am very, very intentional about doing the same for every lawyer that I have on my team.