America’s 200 largest law firms, often referring to themselves as Big Law, are a major training ground for this country’s future judges, politicians, business leaders and government regulators.

Unfortunately, Big Law’s attrition numbers show a disturbing trend for its junior attorneys, which will further feed the demographic imbalance in the country’s future leaders. The deck is stacked against women and attorneys of color. Big Law aggressively advertises its commitment to diversity, yet it allows a shockingly biased system to determine which junior attorneys survive their up-or-out employment model. The only way this disparate impact will change is if firms meaningfully invest in their junior attorneys, but they won’t unless their powerful clients—major corporations across the country—weigh in. Firms have no choice but to respond when these clients demand a better, fairer path forward for junior attorneys, a path that does not discriminate against women and attorneys of color.