Premium Subscriber Content: Q&A with PepsiCo Foods Deputy GC Adrienne Brown Mosley on diversity and the challenges law firms and corporate legal departments face.
To read Mark Curriden’s full profile of Adrienne Brown Mosley, click here.
Texas Lawbook: What do you see as the biggest challenges for in-house and GCs of Texas companies regarding diversity within corporate legal departments and their role in pushing their outside law firms in being more diverse?
Adrienne Mosley: The biggest challenge is sustaining momentum. Thankfully, the PepsiCo law department culture is embedded with diversity principles as part of its identity, and it’s up to the present generation of leaders to sustain the culture. For other environments where such a culture is not entrenched, it is essential for a diverse set of champions to continue to drive the momentum — diverse teams are successful teams — it’s simple. And we don’t need a major, tragic national moment (George Floyd’s murder, etc.) to power the work. We need a consistent, sustainable set of advocates and resources in both law firm and in-house environments.
Lawbook: What advice do you give law firm managing partners about diversity?
Mosley: Due to PepsiCo’s outside counsel diversity guardrails, your commitment to diversity must be evident to support our working relationship with you. Our law department management has ensured that this is a no-debate expectation. Make it part of your firm’s DNA.
Lawbook: What question about you am I not asking that I should be asking?
Mosley: What makes me tick? My faith (Christian). My Family. Mentors — there are many — of course, Leanne Oliver — the complete and total package as a leader, person, lawyer, boss and friend; Michele Thatcher — our compass for navigating leadership, family and faith; several others.
Mentoring and paying it forward. It is critical that I also lend time to mentoring. I have three mentoring pods comprised of women of color across various functions and levels. … It is not connected to a particular program but is comprised of women I’ve been blessed to meet during my work at PepsiCo.