Ex-Associate Sues Quarles & Brady, Alleges Firm Gave Minorities Harsher Evaluations

A former associate at Quarles & Brady in Phoenix contends in a lawsuit that the law firm was more critical of minorities than whites and gave better work to nonminorities. The suit by Luis Ramírez claims that after he complained about discrimination, he was blackballed from work for some clients,…

Apr 25, 2011 1:18 PM CDT

US News Weighs Request to Add Diversity Measure to Law School Rankings

The rankings czar for U.S. News & World Report plans further discussions on a proposal to include a diversity measure in its rankings, but he warns of several hurdles ahead. Writing at the Morse Code blog, research director Robert Morse says U.S. News has a diversity index, but it’s not…

Apr 8, 2011 3:28 PM CDT

Up to 180 Lawyers Will Be Looking for Jobs with Dissolution of Yoss Law Firm

Another law firm is dissolving after several defections by its lawyers and reports of financial troubles. The firm is Yoss, known as Yoss & Adorno before founding partner Henry “Hank” Adorno was suspended for his handling of a $7 million class action settlement. The Florida law firm was once the…

Mar 15, 2011 11:19 AM CDT

Wong Fleming Breaks Away from Yoss to Become Nation’s Largest Women-Owned Law Firm

Wong Fleming will maintain its minority-owned status by breaking away from the troubled Yoss law firm less than a year after the two firms had merged. Wong Fleming will be the nation’s largest women-owned law firm and the third-largest minority-owned firm, its CEO, Linda Wong, told the New Jersey Law…

Mar 11, 2011 1:20 PM CST

More Effort Is Needed to Support Legal System Diversity, and ‘Fatigue’ Is Not an Option

Mar 1, 2011 11:20 AM CST

Executive Director of Minority Corporate Counsel Group Jumps to ACC Presidency

Veta Richardson is taking on a new job as president and CEO of the Association of Corporate Counsel. Richardson comes from the Minority Corporate Counsel Association, where she served as executive director since 2001, according to a press release. She replaces Frederick Krebs, who was president of ACC for 20…

Feb 28, 2011 5:09 PM CST

Akin Gump Chair Hits Partner’s Personal Blog Post on ‘Ugly’ Indian Prayer

An Akin Gump partner is apologizing for a blog post deemed “insensitive” by the managing partner of his law firm. Writing at the Power Line blog, partner Paul Mirengoff criticized the delivery of an Indian prayer at a memorial for Tucson, Ariz., shooting victims. The original post has since been…

Jan 19, 2011 11:30 AM CST

Why Annulkah Can’t Get a BigLaw Job: Everest-Climbing Super-Elite Grads Preferred

“Annulkah” is a fictional job candidate who illustrates the BigLaw reality: If you didn’t go to a “super-elite” school and worked rather than, say, climbing Mount Everest, you aren’t all that interesting to hiring partners. That’s the conclusion of Northwestern University professor Lauren Rivera, who interviewed hiring managers as part…

Jan 13, 2011 1:54 PM CST

1st Black Woman Headed to Ohio Supreme Court, Which Will Have 4-3 Female Majority

Born to a teenage single mother in Ohio who worked two jobs to provide for the family, Yvette McGee Brown has soared far above what might have been predicted for her based on where she started in life. McGee Brown earned her law degree at Ohio State University in 1985…

Dec 10, 2010 9:44 PM CST

Fired Associate Sues Akin Gump, Alleging Bias and NALP Lie

An African-American associate laid off from Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld claims the law “showcased” her at minority events to create a false image of diversity, even as it was transferring her assignments to white lawyers. The racial discrimination suit by Tameka Simmons claims the firm cited pretextual economic…

Dec 6, 2010 12:00 PM CST

Barrier-Breaking US District Court Judge Is Nominated for Seat on 6th Circuit Court of Appeals

An award-winning, barrier-breaking federal district court judge has been nominated by President Barack Obama for a seat on the Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Bernice Bouie Donald, who became the first female African-American bankruptcy judge in the country in 1988, and has been a federal district court judge…

Dec 2, 2010 1:16 AM CST

New Era of Tolerance as 2nd Transgender Judge Takes to Bench This Week

It appears that a new era of tolerance may be dawning as far as diversity on the bench is concerned: Days after a San Francisco-area county claimed to have elected the first transgender trial judge in the country, another transgender judge has been appointed to sit on the municipal court…

Nov 18, 2010 9:58 PM CST

News Reports: Calif. County Sets Record as Home of First Transgender Judge in Country

A transgender candidate has now officially won election to a seat on California’s superior court bench, apparently making Victoria Kolalkowski the first trial judge in the country to claim the sex-change distinction, according to the Oakland Tribune. Championing the diversity that she would bring to a bench of largely white…

Nov 16, 2010 11:21 PM CST

Shearman & Sterling Produces Video for ‘It Gets Better’ Campaign for Gay Youths

Lawyers and support staffers at Shearman & Sterling tell of their struggles growing up gay in a video produced as part of the “It Gets Better” campaign. The five minute video was produced by Sterling Pride, the law firm’s gay affinity group, the National Law Journal reports. The group’s members…

Nov 11, 2010 2:21 PM CST

About 25% of Law Firms Are to Blame for High Minority Attrition Numbers, Study Says

Recent NALP statistics showed a slight decline this year in law firm diversity, but a new study suggests that some firms are more to blame than others. According to Building a Better Legal Profession, much of the decline can be attributed to about a quarter of firms that lost more…

Nov 9, 2010 1:08 PM CST