Paul Weiss, Partner Promotions and the Path to Diversity in Big Law
The response to the firm's mostly white, mostly male partnership announcement provides an opportunity to move toward action on diversity.
January 03, 2019 at 03:24 PM
7 minute read
Law firm partnership announcements provide an opportunity to convey multiple messages. They offer words of congratulations to those who have achieved a hard-earned milestone and showcase a firm's talent pool to key constituencies.
Another unintended message emerges when photos of the new partners reinforce a lack of diversity in the higher echelons of the profession—hardly a new story, but never a welcome one. We now know well the glacially slow upward trend of women at the lower partnership tiers, and far smaller gains, if any, for lawyers of color. Partnership announcements are an annual visual reminder of this failing.
Last month, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison announced that 12 associates would be elevated to partner status. Overall, it was a typical law firm press release that included the requisite head shots of the promoted associates.
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