"In 2003, of the firms that reported whether they had formal diversity initiatives, 119 (78 percent) had formal diversity programs or initiatives aimed at increasing internal diversity; 28 had informal plans. Of the former, the degree of detail in planning varies."
The publication last fall of the 2005 Vault/MCCA Guide to Law Firm Diversity Programs introduced a new way for legal professionals to evaluate diversity programs among the top legal offices in the nation. With over 1300 pages of raw, self-reported data, the Guide offers not only an insider's look at each firm but also, arguably, one more insightful than that of other available research. Comprehensive in scope, the Guide examines demographics, strategic planning, recruitment, retention, and promotion trends, and allows for both industry-wide observations (see subhead Findings) and individual snapshots of participating firms. Corporate clients wishing to compare firms' diversity efforts; law students wanting to review a firm's diversity track record; law firms looking to benchmark; and legal professionals seeking ideas for effective diversity initiatives can all find helpful information in the Guide.
The process of creating the most useful source of concrete law firm diversity information began as a collaborative effort between Vault, Inc. and the Minority Corporate Counsel Association (MCCA®). The match paired Vault's editorial resources and capacity for producing user-friendly career guides with MCCA's expansive network of legal leaders and experience with monitoring diversity progress within the legal profession. It benefited, too, from the support of a general counsel advisory group led by PPG Industries' chief legal officer, James Diggs. Diggs and fellow general counsel Tom Gottschalk of General Motors, Rick Palmore of Sara Lee, and Gloria Santona of McDonald's helped define the need and the purpose the Guide would fill. They also used their considerable influence to make participating in the Guide's inaugural issue a top priority among premier firms.
Together, the team determined that the Guide would catalogue individual commitments to diversity and the types of programs already in place at most of the nation's most prestigious and profitable law firms. They decided the objectives of this annual, published guide would consist of the following:
- provide a consistent profile of current law firm diversity planning, implementation, and representation;
- identify the best practices for the design and implementation of diversity initiatives in law firms; and
- outline the strategies, programs, and metrics that law firms use to increase recruitment, retention, and promotion of minority and women attorneys.1
They also decided that unlike many other diversity surveys of the industry-including, for example, the Vault Guide to the Top 100 Law Firms-there would be no rankings. All information would be self-reported and published alphabetically by firm, with only minor edits for clarity and length.
Borrowing from MCCA's Creating Pathways to Diversity® research, the team developed a survey to cull data on firm-wide demographics, diversity program focus and structure, firm leadership composition, and recruitment, retention, and promotion strategies. The three general counsel enlisted the help of managing partners at several law firms in reviewing the survey before it was finalized. In short, they made every effort to ensure the Law Firm Diversity Survey was comprehensive, yet "user-friendly," both for those who would complete it and those who would read it.
In spring 2004, the general counsel advisory group invited premier law firms across the country to participate in the first annual "Law Firm Diversity Survey" via a formal letter to the managing partners of 203 top law firms. Using their weight as corporate clients, the advisory group requested that "all firms listed below complete the survey" and described it as "an effective means to track law firm performance in the critical area of diversity."2 The group informed partners that in addition to the copies distributed to participating firms, the Guide would go "to the career offices of every accredited law school in the United States and to the 200+ MCCA member general counsel."3
Of 203 invitees, 152 law firms, or 76 percent, responded.
Findings4
With Vault's assistance, Diversity & the Bar® compiled some of the data and the results are insightful. In addition to the findings below, a few examples are cited in order to enrich the analysis.
- Most responding firms boast some form of diversity committee and/or task force and a diversity statement, in addition to EEO, anti-discrimination, and/or anti-harassment policies.
In 2003, of the firms that reported whether they had formal diversity initiatives, 119 (78 percent) had formal diversity programs or initiatives aimed at increasing internal diversity; 28 had informal plans.5 Of the former, the degree of detail in planning varies.
| Associate Statistics from the Vault/MCCA Guide to Law Firm Diversity Programs | |||
| Data compiled from 2005 Vault/MCCA Guide to Law Firm Diversity Programs by Ed Shen (Vault Inc.) | |||
|
|
| 2003 (%) | 2002 (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full-time Associates | |||
| Minority men |
| 7.60 | 7.54 |
| Minority women |
| 9.15 | 8.71 |
| White women |
| 33.80 | 33.60 |
| Summer Associates | |||
| Minority men |
| 9.41 | 9.62 |
| Minority women |
| 14.11 | 13.07 |
| White women |
| 35.39 | 35.11 |
| Equity Partners | |||
| Minority men |
| 3.20 | 2.94 |
| Minority women |
| 1.11 | 1.09 |
| White women |
| 14.44 | 14.10 |
| Non-Equity Partners | |||
| Minority men |
| 4.69 | 4.26 |
| Minority women |
| 2.28 | 1.74 |
| White women |
| 21.89 | 21.71 |
| New Hires | |||
| Minority men |
| 9.16 | 8.94 |
| Minority women |
| 10.48 | 10.13 |
| White women |
| 31.18 | 31.86 |
| Summer associate offers | |||
| Minority men |
|
| 87.31 |
| Minority women |
|
| 86.42 |
| White women |
|
| 88.86 |
| Total |
|
| 87.49 |
|
| Minority men | Minority women | White women |
| Hires | |||
| Lateral associate | 9.07 | 9.94 | 32.28 |
| Lateral partner | 5.83 | 2.06 | 16.32 |
| New partner 5 | .73 | 4.04 | 22.77 |
| New equity partner | 6.22 | 1.97 | 16.63 |
|
| |||
| Attorneys who left | 7.76 | 8.32 | 34.19 |
| Diversity Snapshot-Law Firm Management | |||
|
| Minority men | Minority women | White women |
| Executive/management committee representation | 2.94 | 0.75 | 11.52 |
| Hiring committee representation | 8.49 | 6.69 | 28.93 |
| Associate/partner review committee representation | 3.65 | 2.67 | 23.36 |
Source: 2005 Vault/MCCA Guide to Law Firm Diversity Program
"Some cite very specific targets," says Vault Editor Vera Djordjevich, who managed the influx of responses. "For example, Foley & Lardner aims for 20 percent minority hiring in each class [which roughly mirrors law school class composition], and Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal seeks to mirror the demographics of the community in which each office is based. Others seem to have much more general goals for improvement." Holland & Knight, for example, sets the self-defined "broad" goal of developing a culture in which "lawyers of all racial, gender, ethnic, religious, sexual, and national backgrounds can work together and realize their own personal and professional goals."6
- Women attorneys and attorneys of color are significantly better represented in summer associate ranks than in full-time associate ranks (49.5 percent vs. 43.0 percent, and 23.5 percent vs. 16.8 percent, respectively, based on firm data from 2003).
This finding is particularly true of minority women-they make up 14.1 percent of all summer associates, a number greater than minority men (9.4 percent) and, between 2002 and 2003, those numbers grew at a greater rate than any other group on a percentage basis.7
- The percentage of new hires (19.6 percent) and lateral associate hires (19 percent) who are attorneys of color is considerably greater than full-time associates (16.8 percent).
Similarly, the percentage of new equity partners who are women attorneys or attorneys of color exceeds their overall representation among equity partners (see sidebar). For example, the percentage of minority male equity partner hires was 6.2 percent in 2003, yet the overall percentage of minority male equity partners in 2003 totaled 3.2 percent. These figures, and the minority summer associate numbers cited earlier, support the finding that incoming attorney pools are increasingly more diverse, a trend that, if continued, will have a positive effect on diversity demographics in general-particularly if bolstered by improved retention.
Findings from the Guide are not without negative news and, in fact, illustrate problem areas already identified by diversity studies on the legal industry, most notably the below-average representation of women and minorities in leadership positions.
- Women attorneys and attorneys of color still are significantly underrepresented at the partnership, executive management, and leadership levels.
Attorneys of color account for just 4.3 percent of equity partners and Caucasian women just 14.4 percent, which means Caucasian men fill 81.3 percent of all equity partnership positions. The situation is particularly stark for minority women, who account for only about one percent of equity partners, but nine percent of full-time associates and fourteen percent of summer associates. The National Association of Law Placement (NALP) has reported that 43 percent of all U.S. law firms do not have one partner of color. Given the nation's diversity, it seems implausible that so many law firms have not encountered a single attorney of color they consider qualified to join the equity partnership ranks, and yet five firms report in the Guide that they have not-two that are global, and three with headquarters in New York.
While these partnership numbers represent progress over 2002, the change has been marginal since NALP first performed its review of legal employers in 1993. Then, attorneys of color accounted for 2.5 percent of partners and women for 12.3 percent.
- While Caucasian men hold 84.8 percent of executive management positions, Caucasian women represent just 11.5 percent, minority men 2.9 percent, and minority women less than 1 percent (for example, 0.75) (see sidebar).
Altogether, responding firms report only 44 attorneys of color as heads of offices-a figure that may be slightly inflated by those including global offices (for example, a Japanese attorney as head of an office in Japan). Eighty-four firms report no women heads of offices, 24 report zero women heads of practice groups, and 80 have no attorneys of color as heads of practice groups.
Still, there have been considerable gains made by women, attorneys of color, and individual firms. According to the Guide, 119 women attorneys head offices at this elite group of firms; 137 attorneys of color and 610 women attorneys head practice groups. Many firms are seeking alternatives to improve their senior ranks-for example, women and attorneys of color account for 16.6 percent and 8.2 percent of new equity partner hires, and 16.3 percent and 7.9 percent of lateral partner hires, respectively (see sidebar). Indeed, the foci of diversity-related efforts depend upon the issues that firms identify as current priorities. For example, one firm has implemented a specific program to recruit minority lateral shareholders to each of its offices, stating that, "Having a critical mass of senior attorneys of color at the firm will be our single best asset in recruiting and retaining additional minority attorneys."
Though not widespread, a number of firms-including, but not limited to, Drinker Biddle, Pepper Hamilton, Quarles & Brady, and Shaw Pittman-hired diversity consultants to conduct internal audits and to help develop diversity strategies. A few firms rely on full-time diversity officers. Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Nicholson Graham, for example, has a designated chief diversity officer, as does DLA Piper Rudnick Gary Cary, and Faegre & Benson boasts both a managing partner as its "diversity partner" and a diversity coordinator.
A handful of firms engage minority- and/or women-owned search firms for lateral recruitment (for example, Bingham McCutchen, Duane Morris, and Kirkland & Ellis). Most firms list at least one of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) among institutions where they recruit, and most attend minority job fairs and engage in outreach to minority student organizations and bar associations. One firm offers referral bonuses and financial incentives for offices to recruit attorneys of color, and another has established a 1L summer program specifically for diverse students.
While very few firms have a woman attorney or attorney of color as managing partner, those that do seem to enjoy solid numbers for women or minority attorneys, respectively. For example, at Patterson, Belknap, Webb & Tyler, where the managing partner is a woman, the percentage of women attorneys who are equity partners is 19.2 percent (versus an industry average of 15.2 percent). Similarly, Greenberg Traurig's president and CEO is an attorney of color who leads GT's diversity initiatives; 25.6 percent of its associates are attorneys of color (versus an industry average of 16.8 percent), as are 16 percent of its non-equity partners (versus an average of 7.0 percent). Beyond numbers, some firms also have a variety of progressive initiatives to address the needs of its diverse employees. For example, Mayer Brown, whose managing partner is a woman and whose partnership is 14.8 percent women, boasts "programs for part-time work opportunities, back-up child care service, domestic partner benefits and a six-week paid parental leave for both birth and adoptive parents" in recognition of work/life balance realities.
"Altogether, responding firms report only 44 attorneys of color as heads of offices…Eighty-four firms report no women heads of offices, 24 report zero women heads of practice groups, and 80 have no attorneys of color as heads of practice groups."
To address retention, many firms sustain progressive part-time policies and maintain that working part-time does not affect one's chance at partnership-for example, three current Bingham McCutchen attorneys worked part time and still made partner. Similarly, six Sonnenschein partners worked part time as associates, and four women lawyers at Ropes & Gray have been promoted to partner while working reduced schedules, "all of whom were working part time to accommodate their child care responsibilities." Other firms, including Arnold & Porter and Quarles & Brady, detail parental leave programs that go beyond standard maternity leave, and Arnold & Porter's DC office leads the pack with its own on-site childcare facility for working parents.
A considerable number of firms have mentoring programs that emphasize women attorneys and attorneys of color (for example, Manatt Phelps & Phillips; Sidley Austin Brown & Wood; and Venable). For firms like Pillsbury Winthrop, which has one of the highest percentages of minority partners in the country (9.3 percent versus an average of 4.3 percent), retention strategies include offering key role models-minority partners manage two of the firm's offices, including its largest; chair the firm's top committees; and help comprise a firm-wide career advisory network available to counsel associates in any office on career development issues.
| Vault/MCCA Guide to Law Firm Diversity Programs, 2006 Edition |
| Keep an eye out this year for the 2006 edition of the Vault/MCCA Guide to Law Firm Diversity Programs, which was developed jointly by Vault and MCCA® to provide law students and practicing lawyers with the essential objective information necessary to meaningfully evaluate these firms' diversity initiatives and programs. Over the past few years, most large U.S. law firms have devoted increasing resources to diversity initiatives as well as to the management and administration of these efforts. Nearly all have developed their own unique cultural approach and methods of administration. This Guide will enable law students and mid-career lawyers to match their interests and career objectives with an appropriate firm, as well as enable corporate in-house counsel, as buyers of legal services, to shed light and make meaningful comparisons among the diversity efforts underway at the law firms with which they do business or are considering doing business. The Guide's format presents the same information for all firms in a user-friendly way, addressing the degree to which several widely-recognized "best practices" are being incorporated into the firm's diversity program. Introductions will be written by Roderick A. Palmore, general counsel of Sara Lee Corporation; James C. Diggs, general counsel of PPG Industries, Inc.; and Veta Richardson, executive director of MCCA. |
Other diversity strategies employed by firms such as Baker & Hostetler, Foley & Lardner, DLA Piper Rudnick Gary Cary include tracking metrics for staffing and billable/unbillable time to ensure attorneys of color are being included on the teams for significant matters. Thompson & Knight has developed a database to track and report diversity work statistics for its top 200 clients, and Duane Morris' diversity committee chair personally reviews the time records of the firm's diverse associates.
An emphasis on communications strategies was also frequently reported, with many firms publishing diversity brochures or newsletters (for example, Jenner & Block and Hogan & Hartson), displaying top-line communication of diversity on firm web pages (for example, Morgan Lewis & Bockius; Winston & Strawn; and Holland & Knight), and offering scholarship and internship programs specifically for diverse law students (for example, Clifford Chance U.S.) and internal affinity groups (for example, Arnold & Porter; Porter Wright; Thelen Reid & Priest; and Thompson & Knight).
Beyond these numbers, though, profiles of individual firms offer a wealth of information-from statistical data to ideas on some of the most innovative diversity programs in place today. For law firms committed to diversity, the Vault/MCCA Guide to Law Firm Diversity Programs offers not only a broad picture of the status of women and minority attorneys in law firms today, but concrete examples of successful programs. This publication, and future issues, including the second edition of the Guide slated for publication on November 1, 2005, will allow for a consistent and insightful manner of monitoring diversity advancement in law offices.
The 2005 Vault/MCCA Guide to Law Firm Diversity Programs is available at www.vault.com/law.
NOTES
- "Letter from General Counsel Advisory Group to Managing Partners," Vault/MCCA Guide to Law Firm Diversity Programs (2005), p. 11.
- Id.
- Id.
- Data in this segment represent that reported by each firm for the 2005 Vault/MCCA Guide to Law Firm Diversity Programs, for which data were culled during 2004 for calendar year 2003, and, therefore, may not reflect current demographics or programming at each reported firm.
- Five firms skipped this question.
- Vault/MCCA Guide to Law Firm Diversity Programs, p. 640.
- It is worth noting a few related points. First, Guide percentages for attorneys of color who are full-time associates (16.8) and summer associates (23.5) are higher than NALP figures for the same groups-14.6 and 18.7, respectively. A number of factors likely contribute to this discrepancy. It is evident that attorneys of color are attractive to top-tier firms right now and, likewise, that attorneys of color seem to choose top-tier firms at a greater rate than non-top-tier firms. These firms continue to represent, bigger names, greater opportunities for advancement, and access to bigger clients. Second, Guide figures show that between 2002 and 2003, the overall percentage of attorneys of color grew at a faster rate than the rate of Caucasian women, whose percentages remained largely the same. One explanation may be that increased outreach to minority candidates is encouraging higher percentages to accept law firm job offers.
From the July/August 2005 issue of Diversity & The Bar®