Diversity

‘Micro-Inequities’ Have Big Workplace Impact

Eric Tate says everyone has experienced “micro-inequities” in the workplace, and he is no exception. Tate, a partner at Morrison & Foerster in San Francisco, recalls an incident that occurred when he was the only African-American associate at the law firm’s Palo Alto, Calif., office. A secretary mistook him for…

Aug 7, 2008 11:03 PM CDT

Female GCs at Fortune 500 Cos. Double in Last Decade

The number of top women lawyers at Fortune 500 companies has risen to 92 from 44 when the Minority Corporate Counsel Association first started counting nearly 10 years ago. The state with the largest number of female GCs is New York, which has 14, followed by 11 in California, eight…

Aug 7, 2008 11:07 AM CDT

A Law Firm Ditches the Lockstep System and Retains More Women

A law firm that replaced lockstep promotions with a system based on competency has seen the percentage of women lawyers leaving the firm drop below that of men. Husch Blackwell Sanders had an average annual attrition of about 30 percent when it had the old lockstep system. Under the new…

Jul 31, 2008 11:04 AM CDT

Associate Who Sued Firm for Gay Bias Moves to Clifford Chance

An associate who sued his law firm and won a settlement for gay bias has landed new employment. Aaron Charney will be working at Clifford Chance in New York as a fifth-year mergers and acquisitions associate, the New York Law Journal reports. A spokesman confirmed the hire and said Charney…

Jul 29, 2008 12:10 PM CDT

Microsoft’s Outside Counsel Can Earn a Bonus for Increasing Diversity

Microsoft will pay its preferred outside counsel a 2 percent bonus if they meet diversity goals. The program allows law firms to earn the annual bonus in two ways, reports The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times. One way is to increase the number of hours that women and minorities…

Jul 25, 2008 12:26 PM CDT

Orrick Partner Says Law Firms Must Change Promotion and Billing Structures

A partner at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe endorses part-time work options at law firms, but she says it isn’t nearly enough to satisfy the new generation of lawyers. Patricia Gillette, a San Francisco partner in employment law, said law firms need to completely change promotion structures, create multiple paths to…

Jul 18, 2008 3:32 PM CDT

Buchanan Ingersoll Names New CEO

The chief diversity and integration officer at Buchanan, Ingersoll & Rooney has been elected to take over as the firm’s new chief executive officer. The transition will be lengthy. John Barbour will begin the job next June, taking the place of current CEO Thomas Van Kirk when his term ends,…

Jul 11, 2008 3:15 PM CDT

Wal-Mart Will Use Software to Monitor Diversity of Outside Counsel

Wal-Mart has ditched four law firms for lacking commitment to diversity and will be using technology to keep an eye on the hundreds of other firms that do legal work for the retailer. Miguel Rivera, Wal-Mart’s associate general counsel for outside counsel management, told a Florida Bar diversity symposium last…

Jul 11, 2008 10:35 AM CDT

Munger Tolles Tops Am Law A-List

The American Lawyer has placed Munger, Tolles & Olson at the top of its A-List, replacing Debevoise & Plimpton, which fell to fifth place. The top 20 A-List (reg. req.) ranks firms on the basis of four categories: revenue per lawyer, pro bono hours, associate satisfaction and diversity representation. Debevoise…

Jul 1, 2008 11:35 AM CDT

Lawyers in Love Celebrate Anniversaries at Home—and at Work

Grant and Sandy Liser are celebrating their 19th wedding anniversary this month. But the two Texas lawyers are achieving a memorable milestone as partners at the office this year, too: a decade together at the same law firm, practicing together as trial attorneys in a 21-lawyer defense firm. Although their…

Jun 23, 2008 5:52 PM CDT

Judge Bernice Donald Wins Liberty Award from ABA’s TIPS Section

A federal district court judge in Tennessee has been named a recipient of an inaugural ABA Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section Liberty Achievement Award. Judge Bernice Donald is being honored for actively promoting diversity within the legal community, according to the Memphis Business Journal and an ABA press release.…

Jun 13, 2008 11:30 PM CDT

Students at CLEO Boot Camp Debate ‘Seinfeld’ Hypothetical

Forty-four minority students attending a law school boot camp hosted by the Council on Legal Education Opportunity got a quick introduction to legal debate recently, courtesy of the television show Seinfeld. The Daily Journal (sub. req.) summarizes the legal issue presented by the episode this way: Is a bowl of…

Jun 13, 2008 5:30 PM CDT

New Steptoe & Johnson Diversity Partner Schmoozes Undecided Summers

Daryl “Sandy” Chamblee, the newly appointed diversity partner at Steptoe & Johnson, recently did a little schmoozing to help the law firm attract female summer associates. Chamblee, an African American, was recently appointed the first-ever diversity partner at the law firm. She told The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times…

Jun 13, 2008 3:28 PM CDT

Weil Gotshal Holds Networking Event at Henri Bendel

Lawyers at Weil Gotshal & Manges combined shopping and networking last week during a private shopping party with clients and friends at upscale clothing store Henri Bendel in New York. Both the store and the law firm pledged to donate 10 percent of the evening’s proceedings to the Breast Cancer…

Jun 10, 2008 5:23 PM CDT

Ballpark Protest of Lesbian Kiss Sparks Discussion of Discrimination Issue

Accounts differ about exactly what happened. But a woman says she was asked by an usher to stop kissing her female date at a recent Seattle Mariners baseball game after another fan complained the public display of affection wasn’t suitable for children, even though similar behavior by opposite-sex couples apparently…

Jun 5, 2008 9:41 PM CDT