The legal profession has not, historically, been a diverse one. It wasn't until 2002 that women enrolled in law schools at the same rate as men. And the proportion of racial and ethnic minorities in the legal profession is still out of sync with the population at large.

Yet, corporate legal departments have made some important strides toward fostering greater diversity within their ranks. For instance, more than 100 companies have signed onto the “Call to Action,” a document authored by Sara Lee's general counsel Roderick Palmore in 2004 that expresses commitment to increasing diversity not only within the legal department, but also among the outside counsel the company hires …