The Importance of Diversity in Law Firms
Dentons' Shari Klevens and Alanna Clair highlight steps that lawyers and law firms are taking to recognize and attempt to remedy inequities inherent in the practice of law.
July 31, 2020 at 05:19 PM
6 minute read
The recent developments in our country have led many individuals and businesses to examine their own values and actions when it comes to the treatment of Black Americans and other marginalized groups. The lack of diversity in law firms has been a well-publicized issue, and many law firms have previously recognized the need to recruit and promote diverse attorneys. However, recent events underscore the urgency of the issue and highlight the ongoing inequality in the legal industry despite those past efforts.
Indeed, according to the 2019 Vault/MCCA Law Firm Diversity Study, 81.69% of lawyers in law firms are white or Caucasian. The numbers are even less representative at the partnership levels, where 89% of partners are white, less than 24% are women, 2% are Black, less than 3% are Hispanic or Latinx, less than 4% are Asian American, and less than 2% are openly LGBTQ.
Bar associations have attempted to address discrimination in the practice of law, including through the adoption of rules specifically targeting discrimination as it relates to a law firm's hiring practices. Rule 8.4.1(b)(iii) of the California Rules of Professional Conduct provides that "in relation to a law firm's operations, a lawyer shall not … on the basis of any protected characteristic … unlawfully refuse to hire or employ a person, or refuse to select a person for a training program leading to employment, or bar or discharge a person from employment or from a training program leading to employment, or discriminate against a person in compensation or in terms, conditions, or privileges of employment."
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