Supreme Court to Review Affirmative Action Case

This fall the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral argument in the case of Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin.  At issue is whether the Court’s decisions interpreting the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, including Grutter v. Bollinger, permit the University of Texas at Austin’s use of race in undergraduate admissions decisions.  To obtain access to all briefs and documents related to the case, please follow the link below:

http://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/fisher-v-university-of-texas-at-austin/

Listening to What the Partner Doesn’t Say

Hanna Stotland recently authored an article for the Association of Law Firm Professionals (NALP) titled, “Listening to What the Partner Doesn’t Say.”  The article discusses the skill of listening for unspoken messages, especially with regards to young lawyers and diverse associates.  To access the article, please click on the attached link: Listening to What the Partner Doesn’t Say

New Analysis of NALP’s Law Firm Diversity Data

The Association for Legal Career Professionals (NALP) recently published the article, “Diversity by the Numbers,” that provides an analysis of NALP Directory data and some insights into the ways investments in lawyer professional development are intertwined with investments in diversity.  Of special note, Bill Henderson preliminarily covered these issues in his presentation at the NALP/ALFDP Diversity Summit.

To access the full article, please select the following link:  Diversity by the Numbers

AmLaw 2012 Diversity Scorecard Published

To access the American Lawyer’s annual ranking of large U.S. law firms according to their percentage of minority associates and partners, please click on the following link:  2012 Diversity Scorecard

AmLaw 2011 Diversity Scorecard Published

To access the American Lawyer’s annual ranking of large U.S. law firms according to their percentage of minority associates and partners, please click on the following link: 2011 Diversity Scorecard

California Bar wants ‘U.S. News’ to add diversity as factor in law school rankings

On February 17, 2010, the National Law Journal published an article discussing the California Bar’s request for ’U.S. News’ to add diversity as factor in law school rankings.  The State Bar of California’s Council on Access & Fairness is finalizing a proposal that calls on U.S. News to adjust its formula so that diversity accounts for 15% of the overall law school rankings.

To access the full article, please select the following link: CA Bar Wants US News Diversity Rankings

A Whiter Shade of Pale: Study Finds NY Firms Less Diverse

On, January 26, 2011, the New York Lawyer published the article, “A Whiter Shade of Pale: Study Finds NY Firms Less Diverse” discussing the results of the New York City Bar’s 2010 Diversity Benchmarking Study. 

Among other things, the study reported that for the first time since March 2004, the percentage of minorities and women declined at the reports responding firms, dipping to 16.6 percent of total attorneys from 18.1 percent last year for minorities, and 35.3 percent for women, down from 36 percent.

To access the full article, please select the following link: A Whiter Shade of Pale: Study Finds NY Firms Less Diverse

Number of Women Lawyers Hits 5-Year Low at NLJ 250 Firms

On November, 16, 2010, the National Law Journal reported that the percentage of women partners and associates working at NLJ 250 law firms this year fell to its lowest point since 2006.

Women associates and partners accounted for 29.2 percent of all attorneys at NLJ 250 firms. Five years ago, women made up 32 percent of attorneys at those firms.  The findings are from The National Law Journal‘s annual ranking of the nation’s largest law firms.

To access the full article, please select the following link: Number of Women Lawyers Hits 5-Year Low at NLJ 250 Firms

Recession blamed for ‘historic’ decline in law firm diversity

On November 4, 2010, the National Law Journal reported on the The National Association for Law Placement’s (NALP) latest diversity statistics, concluding that the percentage of both minority attorneys and women attorneys declined slightly at firms during 2010.  NALP’s findings mirror similar conclusions released in recent months by the Minority Corporate Counsel Association (MCCA),Vault and National Law Journal affiliate The American Lawyer.  All three surveys found small pockets of improvement, either at individual firms or among subsets of the attorney population, but the larger conclusions were that diversity suffered. It was the first time in the 17 years that NALP has collected demographic data that diversity actually declined.

Please select the following link to access the full article: Recession blamed for ‘historic’ decline in law firm diversity

Recession Tough on Women Lawyers

On November 9, 2010, the Careerist published an articled discussing the The National Association of Women Lawyers (NAWL) survey that tracked women at the 200 largest firms.

The article reports:

First, the familiar bad news: NAWL finds that women constitute only 15 percent of equity partners (it’s been the same rate for the last five years) and are barely represented in the most influential committees at their law firms. What’s more, nearly half of the firms say that there’s not a single woman among their top ten rainmakers.

Now, the new bad news: Contrary to those optimists who say that the recession has had a positive effect on work/life balance issues, women did not fare well during the recession. In a nutshell, the changes in the profession and the economic downturn have not been kind to lawyers in general and women in particular. (The National Law Journal also reports that the number of women and minority lawyers declined during this past year, according to NALP.)

To access the full article, please select the following link: Recession Tough on Women Lawyers

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