53 THE LAW REPORT Tonkon Torp LLP 888 SW 5th Ave, Suite 1600, Portland, OR 97204 503.802.2170 parna.mehrbani@tonkon.com tonkon.com Reach the Underserved by Taking a New Approach to Client Service BY PARNA MEHRBANI, INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ATTORNEY, TONKON TORP LLP When the cultural and racial reckoning of 2020 unfolded, many companies made a renewed effort to support diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. Unfortunately, due to a variety of factors, including political backlash, court decisions, and a changing economy, support for some DEI work has now slowed. At Tonkon Torp, we help many companies assess how diversity, equity, and inclusion is addressed in their workplace. At the same time, we are regularly reassessing our own efforts – both to make our own workforce more diverse and our workplace more equitable and inclusive – and to better support diverse clients and entrepreneurs. To activate a common desire to provide measurable and tangible services to business owners from marginalized communities, we created the Helping Underserved Businesses (Tonkon HUB) program in 2020. Tonkon HUB isn’t a pro bono program. It aims to be a personalized collaboration with small and emerging businesses. Clients in the program receive a free consultation, discounted services from attorneys throughout our business department, and education on legal issues. With the cost saving, clients in the program can better establish necessary legal foundations or sooner complete the important legal tasks that can get pushed aside as resources get stretched and the daily work of running a business takes precedence. A critical step in building a diverse and vibrant business community is to help business owners with historically limited access to resources launch their businesses from the same starting line as majority-owned businesses. Businesses often need significant personal resources, third party funding, banking/credit support, and other privileges to be successful. Leveling the resources playing field is key to improving the diversity of our business community. We have welcomed 37 companies into Tonkon HUB since launching the initiative. In many ways, what we’re doing isn’t new to our firm. We regularly work with minority-owned businesses. Our attorneys have always had the flexibility to offer customized and discounted services and we offer free educational sessions every year to all our clients. But these resources were offered with the assumption that people already knew of us or that they would reach out if they needed us. This is where we seek to change the game. Different people connect with professional services in different ways, and cold-calling is a nonstarter for many. I am part of an immigrant family with confident professionals of all kinds, but they would never cold call a law firm for legal advice. They just call me – even when I don’t practice the kind of law they need! This is because personal relationships, recommendations, and word of mouth carry more weight for my family, and for those from many cultures. It is essential to expand the way we offer and deliver services beyond the dominant cultural norms. In this way we can expand the business community to better serve the community at large. Our driving goal is to increase access to legal services to communities with whom we might not already have a relationship, so it’s not enough to say, “We’re here, just reach out.” It’s on us to be proactive, welcoming, and fiscally feasible. We’re still fine-tuning this aspect of Tonkon HUB: testing out ways to better introduce ourselves and the program, listening to our prospective audience about what would be most helpful, and offering free educational sessions about Tonkon HUB and legal topics of interest. We’ve made the criteria for the program simple and published it on our website for easy access for those who find us through an internet search, or who want to learn more after meeting us. The program’s service model isn’t just about what to provide, it’s about how we offer it. While there are many ways to arrange a business relationship, they should all start with listening and a willingness to do something different than how it’s always been done. Because if we’re honest, the way it’s always been done was designed to serve only a few, not all of us. As an example, consider that many people find a conversation to be more productive and informative than having things presented in writing – even though writing is the dominant cultural norm. As a lawyer, I need to make sure everything is documented properly, but I can choose to use written communication as the follow-up rather than the leading format. This practice is no different than servicing a banking client differently than a manufacturer. By adding an equity lens to client service, we acknowledge age and stage, industry, and cultural understanding as important factors. The interest in our program has already shown that we are on the right track and it’s a great indicator of what we can do in the community. However, we are keen to allow our program and services to adapt, to listen closely to our clients, and to offer what these business owners want, rather than leading with our own opinions as to what they need. Flexibility is one of the best tools for fostering impactful community-focused DEI efforts. We’re excited to build long-lasting relationships with a rising generation of leaders who will help make our city and region a vibrant and diverse business community.
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