Large law firms have made progress on diversity, but have a way to go, report says

The National Law Journal
Karen Sloan / Staff reporter
April 3, 2009

Large law firms have made progress on diversity, but have a way to go, report says Karen Sloan / Staff reporter April 03, 2009

Large law firms have made progress on diversity issues in recent years, but they need to go farther to ensure that minority, female and homosexual attorneys have the same career opportunities as their white male colleagues. That is the conclusion reached in a new study by the Minority Corporate Council Association (MCCA), a group dedicated to expanding the hiring, promotion and retention of minority attorneys in law firms and corporate legal departments. The study, titled "Sustaining Pathways To Diversity: The Next Steps in Understanding and Increasing Diversity & Inclusion in Large Law Firms," is the MCCA's first in-depth look at law firm diversity issues since 2003. The study noted that law firms have made diversity issues more of a priority since then, but some major challenges remain. The findings were based on questionnaires completed by more than 4,000 attorneys at 124 different large firms. The respondents were distributed across gender and races lines and included both associates and partners. The questionnaires included questions about everything from mentoring and work/life balance issues to firms' recruiting processes and their experiences of being excluded. "[The study demonstrates that] circumstances have not changed enough in many areas — and old attitudes die hard, despite the best of intentions," wrote MCCA Executive Director Veta T. Richardson in an introduction. One of the most serious challenges to improving law firm diversity is the so-called "myth of meritocracy," which holds that academic pedigree and credentials are the best indication of an attorney's potential for success in the law firm environment. To the contrary, the study found that fitting in with the majority culture at a firm is actually a better indictor of long-term success than top-tier law school credentials. "MCCA's research reveals that when it comes to one's professional development, landing plum assignments, and receiving satisfactory coaching and feedback, whites enjoy a significant advantage over all minorities, and this advantage persists whether one's academic experience ranks as 'top tier' or 'third tier,' " Richardson said.

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