Diversity

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

New NLJ List: 50 Most Influential Minority Lawyers

Winnowing through an avalanche of nominations to determine the 50 minority lawyers who have had the most influence on the profession during the past five years was no easy task, due to the multitude of candidates. But a National Law Journal team has done so, supplementing the information provided with…

Jun 2, 2008 9:20 PM CDT

Yale Affirmative Action Didn’t Hurt Clarence Thomas, Classmates Say

Although a Yale Law School diploma didn’t prevent Clarence Thomas from getting a seat on the U.S. Supreme Court bench, it didn’t help him much either, he has said. In particular, the African-American justice has blamed Yale’s affirmative action program for stigmatizing black graduates, and contends his law degree is…

Jun 2, 2008 6:59 PM CDT

Law Firm Diversity Consultant Tells Employees: Consider If You Are Valued

A lawyer turned diversity consultant has advised minority employees who feel underappreciated to get smart, rather than getting mad, by leaving for better opportunities. Natalie Holder-Winfield, who wrote Recruiting and Retaining a Diverse Workforce, tells the New York Times the important question for employees to consider is how much they…

May 30, 2008 4:59 PM CDT

Want More Women Partners? Then Name Them, Blogger Tells Firms

As he listened recently to yet another panel of managing partners lament the lack of women in the pipeline to promote to partner in their law firms, a blogger had an epiphany. If they want more women partners, they should make more women partners, writes Aric Press, the editorial director…

May 27, 2008 6:33 PM CDT

Gay BigLaw Partner: Coming Out Helped My Career

Coming out of the closet about his sexual orientation has helped his career, says a London partner at one of the world’s biggest and best-known law firms. Stephen Shea, a tax partner at Clifford Chance, says he is more relaxed with colleagues and clients and willing to take on new…

May 27, 2008 2:43 PM CDT

Former Child Actor, Now Blind, Will Begin Stint as O’Connor Law Clerk

A former child actor who played the nerdy Weasel on the TV show Saved By the Bell: The New Class will become a U.S. Supreme Court clerk this July for retired Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. Actor-turned-lawyer Isaac Lidsky will be the first blind clerk at the Supreme Court, Legal Times…

May 27, 2008 2:35 PM CDT

UK Survey Finds Male Lawyers Earn $38K More than Females

Male lawyers in the United Kingdom make about $38,000 more a year on average than female lawyers. The median annual pay for male solicitors in private practice is 60,000 pounds (about $119,000) while median pay for females is 41,000 pounds (about $81,000), a 32 percent difference, Bloomberg reports. When hours,…

May 23, 2008 11:11 AM CDT

More Tyco Work for BigLaw UK Firm Under Unusual Billing Scheme

A major U.K.-based international law firm stands to get a six-figure bonus this year from a corporate client if it meets certain goals, including having women comprise at least 25 percent of its 2009 class of new partners. Eversheds will also see a fatter paycheck if it reduces Tyco’s litigation…

May 20, 2008 6:44 PM CDT

New Law Dean at UC Davis is First Latino in the Position

Kevin Johnson was confirmed today as the new law school dean at the University of California at Davis by the school’s board of regents. He is the first Latino to be appointed dean of any of the law schools in the UC system, according to a press release. Johnson, 49,…

May 16, 2008 12:30 AM CDT

Diversity Manager Hiring Rises, But Are They Effective?

Corrected: Last year, 50 percent of law firms had designated diversity managers, and according to a new Altman Weil survey, that number has risen to nearly 60 percent. All 80 firms surveyed now have diversity committees as well. “This year, for the first time, more than half of law firms…

Apr 24, 2008 4:28 PM CDT

In Diversity Effort, Utilities Beef Up Summer Associate Programs

Some energy companies are helping law students get critical experience with expanded summer associate programs. Pacific Gas & Electric Co.’s legal department is expanding its summer program from four weeks to eight, the Recorder (sub. req.) reports. It targets students who have demonstrated a commitment to diversity. Four students will…

Apr 18, 2008 3:00 PM CDT

Coke Reviews Diversity at Outside Law Firms, Honors Shook Hardy

The Coca-Cola Co. sent a questionnaire to its 18 outside law firms asking about their diversity practices, then honored Shook, Hardy & Bacon for good results. The soft drink company awarded Shook Hardy its “Living the Values” award at a dinner in Atlanta last week, according to the Fulton County…

Apr 17, 2008 6:10 PM CDT