Diversity

Facebook recognizes diversity efforts of outside counsel with award to Kilpatrick Townsend

Facebook has tapped Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton for its first Law Firm Diversity Champion Award.

Jun 25, 2019 3:12 PM CDT

University of Idaho law professor sues school for racial and gender discrimination

A black female law professor alleging race and gender discrimination in employment and education has filed a federal lawsuit against the University of Idaho College of Law. In her complaint filed June 19 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho, Shaakirrah Sanders, the first black person to…

Jun 24, 2019 2:40 PM CDT

Former Jones Day partner drops suit claiming ‘enforced code of silence’ led to pay bias

A former Jones Day partner in California has dropped her pay bias suit against the law firm in exchange for return of capital that she contributed to the firm. Lawyer Wendy Moore has dismissed all her claims, according to a statement by the law firm emailed to the ABA Journal.…

Jun 18, 2019 3:28 PM CDT

Ginsburg says Kennedy’s retirement was ‘event of greatest consequence’ for current term

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg appeared to suggest Friday that the number of sharply divided cases will increase as the term ends, beating the current percentage of about 25%. And she also appeared to suggest that the retirement of Justice Anthony M. Kennedy is affecting the outcomes. Ginsburg…

Jun 10, 2019 10:15 AM CDT

Another University of Denver law professor sues school alleging gender and wage discrimination

A tenured associate professor at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law has filed an Equal Pay Act complaint, claiming that she earns significantly less than others in her academic category.

Jun 10, 2019 6:30 AM CDT

Would-be clients with white-sounding names got 50% more lawyer responses in California, report says

Lawyers in markets with less competition might be more likely to racially discriminate against clients seeking legal representation, a Yale researcher has concluded. Yale University lecturer and postdoctoral associate Brian Libgober drew that conclusion from a series of studies in which he sent emails requesting representation to lawyers in private…

Jun 6, 2019 3:26 PM CDT

ABA group offers $5K scholarships to support LGBT public interest work

Law students or recent law school graduates who plan to work in the LGBTQ public interest field still have a few days to apply for a new scholarship being offered by the ABA's Commission on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.

Jun 6, 2019 10:12 AM CDT

Lawyer count in US increases 14.5% from decade ago; these 5 states have highest number of active attorneys

The number of active lawyers in the United States increased 14.5% over the last decade, according to statistics released Friday by the ABA. The total number of active lawyers at the beginning of 2019 was 1,352,027, up from 1,180,386 in 2009, according to the ABA’s National Lawyer Population Survey. The…

Jun 3, 2019 11:46 AM CDT

Law firm 2019 diversity scorecard is released; which firms top the list?

The immigration law firm Fragomen has ousted White & Case from its position atop the American Lawyer’s diversity scorecard rankings. Fifty-five of the nation’s largest law firms had at least 20% minority lawyers in the latest scorecard, up from 43 the prior year, the American Lawyer reports. Three firms had…

May 30, 2019 7:30 AM CDT

Groping, extortion, litigation-funder fraud among claims in dueling suits by law firm, ex-partner

Updated: A court fight between Pierce Bainbridge Beck Price & Hecht and one of its former partners is airing allegations of financial misconduct, sexual assault, masturbation, retaliation and a $65 million extortion attempt. The dispute first received attention last Wednesday, when fired partner Donald Lewis sued Pierce Bainbridge in Manhattan…

May 21, 2019 7:00 AM CDT

For law firms on the web, online accessibility for the disabled is good business

As legal services providers update their technology and grow their online footprints, they should build and use technology that is accessible to the broadest number of people, and that also includes people with disabilities.

May 21, 2019 6:30 AM CDT

Bullying and sexual harassment ‘are rife in the legal profession,’ global survey finds

One in three female lawyers have been sexually harassed in a work context, while one in two women have experienced bullying in the workplace, according to a recently released global survey of nearly 7,000 lawyers in 135 countries. The numbers were somewhat lower for male lawyers. One in 14 men…

May 16, 2019 7:00 AM CDT

Lawyer faces contempt charges for alleged failure to show up for client hearings

A DUI lawyer in Virginia says he plans to reduce his caseload after he was accused of contempt of court for missing client hearings and failing to produce a client’s driving record. Blacksburg lawyer Jonathan P. Fisher, 42, told the Roanoke Times that the scheduling problems led him to reach…

May 14, 2019 12:06 PM CDT

BigLaw firm donates $1M to civil rights group

Hogan Lovells has donated $1 million to the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law to help advance its legal work against racial discrimination. The donation to the committee is the “largest donation from a law firm in modern times,” says Reynolds Graves, media relations manager for the group. The…

May 9, 2019 7:00 AM CDT

Career of Above the Law founder and Legal Rebel takes another turn

David Lat, the former federal prosecutor who founded the blog Above the Law, has decided to become a legal recruiter. Lat will be a managing director of the New York City office of Lateral Link, he announced in an Above the Law column Monday. The new job follows Lat’s decision…

May 7, 2019 12:39 PM CDT