Association Focus

NALP–The Association for Legal Career Professionals

Since 1971, law students have relied upon the National Association for Law Placement (NALP) to learn about prospective employers and make the most of the coveted interviews they secure. In today's challenging economy, students still rely on NALP to enhance their odds of landing a job. NALP still offers a sneak peek into firms and their operations, and arms students with the tools they need to make the most of the recruiting process. The organization’s mission identifies four core objectives:

• To provide vision and expertise in research and education for legal career counseling and planning, recruitment, employment, and professional development;
• To cultivate ethical practices and fairness in legal career counseling and planning, recruitment, employment, and professional development;
• To promote the full range of legal career opportunities and to foster access to legal public interest and public sector employment; and
• To advocate for diversity in the legal profession and in [its] membership.

NALP was founded to create a forum for law students, law schools, and legal employers to discuss the recruiting and hiring process. The fledgling organization's leadership recognized early on that a facilitating body was needed to help everyone speak on the same terms and play by the same rules. NALP's current executive director, James G. Leipold, emphasizes the organization's role in developing and implementing fair and ethical rules of engagement in the recruiting process. "Our association first came together around the idea that law schools and legal employers should work together to foster ethical practices and fairness in legal career planning, recruitment, employment, and professional development," he explains. "Non-discrimination was at the root of that historical mission, but NALP's leadership on this front is far broader, providing guidance to its members that covers the entire range of ethical issues that can arise in the hiring setting."

NALP’s rules of engagement—as embodied by its Principles and Standards for Law Placement and Recruitment Activities—provide concrete guidance to law schools, job candidates, and employers about what is expected of everyone, and what each party should expect in return. The adoption and pursuit of these rules by all concerned have made the process more predictable, more civilized, and less discriminatory.

NALP's activities have promoted diversity not only by implementing rules that promote non-discriminatory hiring practices, but also by compiling information on law firms, which has helped keep firms honest about their own diversity efforts. According to the 2008-2009 NALP Directory of Legal Employers , NALP's annual compendium of legal employer data, the percentage of women and minority lawyers at law firms continues to increase, although the rate of change is very slow, and minority women continue to be dramatically underrepresented at the partnership level. This publication places a spotlight on firms, and reveals whether their actions live up to their pledges.

Although NALP's primary focus is not to promote diversity, it is clear that its broader focus includes a strong emphasis on diversity. As Leipold explains, "NALP has a long-standing commitment to diversity, and has a long history as an advocate for diversity in the legal profession. Our research, publications, and educational efforts all support this commitment. And we are very excited about our legal diversity pipeline project that we have undertaken in partnership with the Street Law organization." This initiative pairs NALP-member law firms with local high schools, and commits lawyers to teaching law-related topics in high school classrooms. In this way, the initiative fosters in these students the dream of pursuing a career in law.

Mike Gotham, director of recruiting and retention at Perkins Coie and the current president of NALP, concurs with Leipold about NALP's emphasis on diversity. "NALP has always made diversity in the legal profession a priority. It's one of the association's core objectives. The association has promoted diversity in a host of ways, [such as] providing opportunities for members to share ideas related to diversity recruiting and retention, highlighting best practices, and launching the diversity summit conference several years ago." This diversity conference is an annual event designed to bring together hiring and managing partners, law school deans, and other legal professionals to exchange information about the challenges and innovations surrounding the issue of diversity in the legal employment arena.

The organization recognizes excellence in diversity (along with seven other categories) through its Awards of Distinction program, which are presented at NALP's Annual Education Conference. Additionally, NALP offers its members the opportunity to engage in a range of areas of interest through its sections, work groups, and committees. The association provides a variety of other programs and services, including public service initiatives; Internet-based training and seminars; and a host of resources for professionals in the areas of career counseling, legal recruitment, and professional development.

NALP continues its tradition of serving as an invaluable resource to law students. The information it provides helps even the playing field between firms and law students. On issues ranging from attrition to salaries to law firm demographics, NALP research reports remain a respected and vital resource.    DB

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Francisco Ramos Jr., Esq., is a freelance writer and partner at the Miami-based offices of Clarke Silvergate Campbell.

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From the March/April 2009 issue of Diversity & The Bar^®