Diversity

Study Finds ‘Astounding’ Absence of Women in Top Rainmaking Roles

A new study has found that women are “terribly underrepresented” in the ranks of major rainmakers at top U.S. law firms. The study by the National Association of Women Lawyers and the NAWL Foundation asked the nation’s top 200 law firms to list the gender of their top 10 rainmakers.…

Oct 26, 2009 9:50 AM CDT

Transgender Man Can Change Name Without Medical Backup, Court Rules

A New York City court erred by requiring a transgender man to provide medical documentation before permitting him to change his name, a Manhattan state appeals court panel ruled today, reports the Associated Press. “There is no sound basis in law or policy” for imposing such a requirement concerning Leah…

Oct 21, 2009 6:14 PM CDT

Pipeline and Lateral Recruiting Blamed for Stagnating Diversity Stats

The proportion of minority lawyers at the nation’s largest and most profitable law firms has increased from 10.4 percent in 2005 to 13.9 percent in 2009, but not every law firm is reporting increased diversity. The Minority Law Journal’s Diversity Scorecard found that more than 12 percent of the law…

Oct 20, 2009 12:58 PM CDT

‘Leniency Bias’ in Job Reviews Hampers Women Lawyers, Consultant Says

Too few women lawyers are attaining partnerships, and the reason can be traced to unconscious bias affecting everything from assignments to job evaluations, according to a law firm partner and consultant. Writing in the National Law Journal, Lauren Stiller Rikleen says a lack of clear policies and objective standards can…

Oct 19, 2009 2:35 PM CDT

1st Latina Named to Top Texas Court; Other Hispanics May Soon Be Fed’l Judges

Following the historic appointment today of a Latina to a seat on the Texas Supreme Court, more Hispanics may soon be named to the state’s federal bench. A list made public today by the state’s Democratic delegation to Congress includes four, although no official candidates for the federal bench have…

Oct 8, 2009 9:25 PM CDT

Ex-NBA Playing Lawyer Is ‘Gun Shy’ of Big Firms After Short Dreier Stint

Len Elmore has had plenty of successes in his life. He was a pro basketball player for 10 years, a Harvard Law School grad, a prosecutor, a sports agent, a TV commentator, and a senior counsel at the law firm then known as LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae. Things changed…

Oct 7, 2009 4:48 PM CDT

More Black than White Associates Report Too Little Work, Anxiety and Job Search

A survey of midlevel associates finds more African-Americans than whites are reporting light workloads and anxiety about the future. More than 20 percent of African-American associates said their workloads are too light, compared to a little more than 15 percent of Asian Americans and Hispanics, and 13 percent of whites,…

Oct 6, 2009 2:16 PM CDT

University of New Mexico No. 1 on List of Top Law Schools for Hispanics

The University of New Mexico School of Law awards 30 percent of its degrees to Hispanics and has a law faculty that is 23 percent Hispanic, earning the school first place on a list of top law schools for Hispanics. Diversity at the law school “has developed organically from surrounding…

Sep 9, 2009 12:52 PM CDT

Partner Promotions at Top UK Firms Fell 33% Over Past Year

A number of British law firms have recently added up the numbers for fiscal years that run from 2008 to 2009 and, after a year of economic turmoil that has hit the legal industry particularly hard, the picture isn’t pretty. Partner promotions plunged among the United Kingdom’s 50 largest firms…

Sep 3, 2009 5:06 PM CDT

First Women Elected to Simpson Thacher’s Executive Committee

Women partners at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett are celebrating the election of two women to the firm’s executive committee. Sarah Cogan and Laura Palma are the first women to join the 12-member committee in the firm’s 125 years of existence, the Am Law Daily reports. “It was a gaping hole…

Sep 3, 2009 11:55 AM CDT

Now More Than Ever

ABA will continue providing guidance, delivering benefits to boost the profession

Sep 2, 2009 4:10 AM CDT

Doing What Felt Right Put Lawyer, 33, at Helm of Own Practice

A little over seven years ago, Tony Jorgensen was getting ready to take the Pennsylvania bar exam after earning his law degree from Temple University in Philadelphia. But on a sudden impulse he hustled home to his native Connecticut on the last possible day to apply to take the bar…

Aug 31, 2009 6:28 PM CDT

Where Are They Now? Ex-ABA Leaders Grey and Stein Take on New Roles

Two former ABA leaders are taking on leadership roles in organizations promoting a better legal profession and improved laws. Former ABA President Robert J. Grey Jr. has been appointed interim executive director of the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity, formed in May to promote diversity in the legal profession, according…

Aug 26, 2009 6:33 PM CDT

Sotomayor’s Elevation Cuts Hispanics on US Appeals Courts by One-Third

The federal bench is largely white and male, but President Obama’s judicial appointments would help increase the diversity. Right now 13 percent of all federal judges are minorities and 18 percent are women, according to statistics published by the Washington Post. When Obama appointed Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S.…

Aug 26, 2009 11:33 AM CDT

Major Canada Firm Must Produce Pay Info in Hard-Fought Sex Bias Case

One of Canada’s biggest law firms must soon produce a treasure trove of information about its salaries, billing rates and performance reviews, among other confidential information. What is believed to be an unprecedented court order against McCarthy Tétrault requires the disclosure by Sept. 7, in response to a former associate’s…

Aug 25, 2009 5:12 PM CDT