- Discouraging Downward Trend
American Lawyer’s annual Diversity Scorecard revealed that the proportion of attorneys of color at large law firms fell last year, the first time the overall percentage dropped since Amlaw launched the editorial project nine years ago. The number jumped from less than 10 percent in 2000 to 13.9 percent for 2008, then fell in 2009 to 13.4. percent. The scorecard gets its data from about 200 big firms. The data confirmed fears by many in the industry that the massive layoffs of the past few years would have this effect. African American attorneys lost the most ground. A disturbing conclusion by Amlaw: “Almost one in six African-American nonpartners left the surveyed firms in the space of a year without being replaced.” Diversity experts say that minority lawyers are more likely to be vulnerable due to low workloads, and that cut backs in recruitment efforts also likely played a role.
The article says that it may be hard to reverse the trend, given that first-year classes will remain small and that fewer African-Americans and Mexican-Americans are starting law school. At the same time, clients are likely to continue to insist on improved diversity. You can check out the chart to get the data on all the firms who participated. Wilson Sonsini kept its top spot as the most diverse firm. While most firms saw their minority percentages decrease, a few firms, including Chadbourne & Parke and White & Case (both of which had layoffs), saw their percentages increase.
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| 11:54 AM Mar 2, 2010 | Email the Daily Dragon | Email this Article | Post Comments |
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