We publish the Diversity Scorecard each year to provide a snapshot of where the industry is headed. Diversity has long been a pressing issue at law firms, and, as in years past, any change that did occur last year was incremental.

But there are reasons for optimism, as you'll see from reading our coverage below. Last year, we wrote about the rising trend that saw general counsel at major corporations taking a hard line on diversity, led by the legal departments of Facebook Inc., HP and Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. This year, those efforts look to be taking on a more serious tone. The threat of withholding invoices is now a forceful reality in some cases. The numbers tick slowly upward, but motivation to change them is as real as ever.

In the year since corporations introduced new diversity mandates, Big Law has worked to meet the demands, crafting and implementing diversity and inclusion initiatives that strive to increase the recruitment of diverse talent and develop opportunities for minorities to rise through the ranks. General counsel have used this year as a training ground to prepare law firms for the expectations ahead—and now they're ready to get serious.