Remember what a royal pain I was last year when I instituted my Unicorn Watch to track African American partner elevations? As you might recall, I lamented the dearth of new black partners at the nation's largest firms. I went so far as to publicly shame some firms with zero new black partners.

Well, I'm back on the trail, and here's the news flash: It isn't all terrible.

Shockingly, there's some encouraging news on the diversity front for new partners, including black lawyers. Some firms have even promoted more than one lonely black associate! How radical is that? Also noteworthy: Black women are holding their own.

Anyway, here's my preliminary snapshot for 2020:

Jones Day: Three black partners. Among the new U.S.-based partners (30 out of 34 total worldwide) are three black lawyers—all women, nonetheless! They are Jennifer Everett, Shirlethia Franklin and Jihan Walker. This is a big deal because last year I called the firm out for having zippo black partners, despite promoting an exceptionally large class of new shareholders (46 worldwide). Of course, we have no idea whether these three unicornesses are equity partners. (Remember Jones Day operates as a black box in which compensation and partnership status are guarded like testing kits for the coronavirus.) But we'll take whatever good news we can.

Weil, Gotshal & Manges: Two black partners. Out of 16 U.S.-based new partners, two are black: bankruptcy specialist Candace Arthur in New York and litigator Bambo Obaro of Silicon Valley. This is also a notable improvement from last year when there were no black partners.

Jenner & Block: Two black partners. Jenner has always had a pretty progressive reputation, so it's not shocking that two out of its seven new U.S.-based partners are black. They are litigator LaRue Robinson of Chicago and communications/technology partner Johanna Thomas of Washington, D.C.

Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr: Two black partners. Out of 11 new partners, Wilmer's 2020 partner class includes three D.C.-based diverse attorneys (all women!). The two African Americans are litigators Brittany Amadi and April Williams. (intellectual property lawyer Haixia Lin is the third diverse lawyer).

Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson: One black partner. You might think a big firm with only one black partner promotion is a snore, but Fried Frank's class this year was small—only five lucky souls. And guess what? It's another woman—real estate lawyer Kabaye Liku. It's also worth noting that last year the firm also promoted a black partner—two consecutive years! That makes it part of a select club.

Davis Polk & Wardwell: One black partner. Again, another woman: Corporate lawyer Vanessa Jackson, one out of 10 new partners. Last year, the firm elevated an all-male, all-white class of seven partners, so this is a nice change.

White & Case: One black partner. For a relatively large partnership class (45 new partners worldwide, including 16 U.S.-based), making one black partner (Sheldon Philp) might seem disappointing. But considering that the pool was about the same size last year, and no black lawyers made it, White & Case is making strides. (I asked the firm whether it made an extra effort this year, and this is what Maja Hazell, head of diversity and inclusion, said: "We have a robust, award-winning talent management program, focused on diversity, that involves a number of senior leaders at the Firm. Our U.S. partner class promotions was one of the most diverse we have ever had with nine women partners —56%—one LGBTQ partner, one black partner, and three Asian American partners. And we're continuing to pay close attention to the pipeline of underrepresented talent in upcoming years, including black and other underrepresented candidates.")

I don't think these results so far will knock anyone's socks off. A black partner here and there once in a blue moon won't change the sorry situation. (Not to be a broken record, but black lawyers represent about 2% of all partners in Big Law.) And, of course, there are loads of firms with no new black partners at all (I'll be on that case in the near future.)

But here's what I find heartening: Some firms with pathetic records with promoting black partners are now stepping up their game.

Who says public shaming doesn't work?

Contact Vivia Chen at [email protected]. On Twitter: @lawcareerist.