The annual Law360 Pulse Diversity Snapshot was recently released, and the numbers are once again depressing. The fact is that the practice of law remains the province of white people. (The Survey did not look at how women are faring, although a coming Law360 Survey will. But I would guess it would be accurate to say the profession still belongs primarily, if not exclusive, to old white guys). I had a chance recently to talk to Kerry Benn, Director of Series, Surveys & Data at Law360, about the Survey.
Benn told me Law 360 has been doing the Survey annually for seven years. For 2020, the Survey was completed by some 276 law firms of various sizes, so it’s pretty representative.
Some critical numbers from the most recent Survey:
In 2014 (the first year of the Survey), the percentage of people of color in surveyed firms was a paltry 14%. In 2020, it was a paltry 18%. Some improvement. But the law firm percentages are nothing like the general population, which is some 40% non-white, according to recent estimates. Even worse, in 2014, the percentage of minority partners was 8%. In 2020 it was still under 11%. At every level, the representation of minority attorneys increased by less than one percentage point from the year before. Black attorneys make up 3.6% of all attorneys, while those identifying as Hispanic make up 4.5%. Asian attorneys are the best-represented minority group, making up 7.5% of all attorneys. Attorneys of color represent 16% of all partner promotions. Black attorneys made up nearly 3% of those promotions, while Hispanic and Latino attorneys were more than 4% and Asian attorneys were 6%.
The numbers are depressing. The diversity of the profession is not representative of many of those it is supposed