Five Steps to Increasing Diversity and Inclusion in Your Organization

Last month, I spoke about increasing diversity and inclusion at the NALP Annual Education conference. My co-presenters and I discussed recruiting and retaining millennials of color. The hypothetical scenario we used was Marcus, a third year black law student, and Jim, the white male managing partner at a fictional international law firm called Walker Cross. After talking […]

Honoring Those Making the Legal Profession Accessible

Did you know only 1 percent of attorneys in the top 100 corporate law firms are members of minority groups? And as NALP reported this past January, among employers listed in its NALP Directory of Legal Employers, only 7.52% of partners were minorities. Meanwhile, the National Association for Women Lawyers reported that the pay gap […]

ABA’s Profile of the Legal Profession Explores COVID-19’s Lasting Impact

The ABA released its annual snapshot of the legal profession last month. The profile explores trends in 11 subject areas — including demographics, law schools, the judiciary, technology, and the pandemic. The report is based on a survey of more than 4,000 ABA members last fall and a follow-up survey of nearly 1,400 senior lawyers in March.

Painful or Purposeful? Flipping the Narrative on CLE for Lawyers

In December 2019, the National Association for Law Placement (NALP) released its annual Report on Diversity in U.S. Law Firms. Across the board, progress for women and people of color is, to quote the report commentary, “at a rate so slow as to almost seem imperceptible at times.” Additionally, a recent report from the American […]

GCs Demand Law Firm Diversity

More than 170 general counsel and corporate legal officers demand big law firms commit to diversity or they’ll take their business elsewhere. The open letter comes on the heels of dismal law firm diversity numbers from the National Association for Law Placement (NALP) and an online debate sparked by Paul Weiss’ all-white and majority male partner class. […]

Minority Representation is Growing in Law Firms, Slowly, But Surely

Each year, the National Association for Law Placement (NALP) releases statistics on minority representation in the legal profession. The 2016 numbers have gone up, slightly. Minority attorneys still haven’t made a significant dent in the overall composition of lawyers in American law firms. According to the 2016 report, from 2015-2016, the number of non-white lawyers in […]

Mindfulness Practice In Law Firms

Last week, I attended the NALP Professional Development Institute in Washington D.C. It was an educational and engaging two days interacting with some of the best minds in legal education and professional development. Topics ranged from online learning to strategic planning to law firm economics to – mindfulness practice. As I was reviewing the agenda, […]