Does class bias affect law firm hiring? A recent study finds that it does. How does class bias affect our hiring processes and what should we do about it?

At the risk of stating the obvious, reviewing résumés is tedious work. Law firm hiring committees strive to eliminate improper bias from the screening process. Even so, screening for objective criteria such as successful law school careers, high grades and class rank, prestigious alma maters, and relevant prior experience often leave the reviewers with far too many applicants to recommend for interviews. What makes a particular résumé stick out to the busy reviewer, who is likely eager to get back to casework?

The astute applicant finds ways to distinguish her résumé. One way to do so, often encouraged by career development professionals, is to list extracurricular activities and hobbies on a résumé. A shared interest might create a preliminary affinity between the reviewer and the applicant that results in an interview. Hobbies may also suggest a certain class background: an interest in skiing infers access to ski resorts and expensive equipment; sailing, access to water, marinas, and boats; and polo, well, enough said.