Ep 109: Coca-Cola GC Bradley Gayton On His Dramatic Demand for Diversity

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Barely six months into his new position as senior vice president and general counsel for The Coca-Cola Company,</span> <a href= "https://www.coca-colacompany.com/company/leadership/bradley-gayton"> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Bradley M. Gayton</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">has taken dramatic action to increase diversity and inclusion among the company’s outside counsel,</span> <a href= "https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/open-letter-commitment-diversity-belonging-outside-counsel-gayton/"> <span style="font-weight: 400;">telling firms</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">that they must meet minimum diversity commitments or face consequences ranging from fee reductions to outright firing. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">While even he describes this as a bold move, he is no stranger to bold moves. Before moving to Coca-Cola in September, he spent 29 years at the Ford Motor Company, where he rose from law student intern to become that company’s top lawyer, managing a team of over 600 people across more than 20 countries, and where he developed a track record of innovation, not only around diversity and inclusion, but also in the use of legal technology and in his advocacy for pro bono service and access to justice. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">On this week’s LawNext, Gayton joins host Bob Ambrogi to discuss his latest diversity initiative as well as his career and his insights on technology and innovation. </span></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Thank You To Our Sponsors</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This episode of LawNext is generously made possible by our sponsors. We appreciate their support and hope you will check them out. </span></p> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href= "https://joinparadigm.com/"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Paradigm</span></a><span style= "font-weight: 400;">, home to the practice management platforms</span> <a href= "https://www.practicepanther.com/"><span style= "font-