Asians, Minority Issues, Racism

‘Ball Don’t Lie’ – What Percentage Of Biglaw Partners Are White?

The answer might surprise you (or it might not, if you've been around long enough).

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“You might think you’ve peeped the scene/ You haven’t, the real one’s far too mean/ The watered down one, the one you know/ Was made up centuries ago.”   – N. Minaj, K. West

In 2009 Bill Simmons, ESPN columnist and Grantland.com founder, began the popular “30 for 30” documentary series. Simmons wanted feature-filmmakers to recount intimate sports stories, people, and events that were compelling to them, but had not been fully explored by society. Each 30 for 30 show is promoted by asking the question, “What if I told you…” Consider this my “30 for 30” literary column. [Dramatic pause] “What if I told you 92% of all Biglaw partners are white?” [Intro music, “All of the Lights” by Kanye West]

In 1986, Goldman Sachs needed or at least accepted a $500 million capital injection from Sumitomo Bank. The Japanese Bank was anxious to learn about the world of investment banking and willing to fork over $500 million for a minority stake in Goldman and the right to send two dozen interns to America to learn from America’s finest investment bankers – Goldman Sachs.

Through pure strategery, Goldman was able to persuade the Federal Reserve Board of Governors to set a quota on Japanese interns (that’s why Goldman gets paid the big bucks!) The government limited Sumitomo to two – not two dozen – interns, and Sumitomo’s two interns could stay in New York for only twelve months before rotating home. Agriculture protectionist policies don’t seem so bad now, do they? It may be hard to believe, but in the eighties many feared the Japanese were buying up America. We all arrived here differently. Our present situations are all different as well. Perhaps this is what leads to misunderstandings. But with the proper communication, it can also lead to resolutions. Some Africans were forced here, some Japanese bankers tried to enter through the back door. Although they often denounce big government, big corporations are more than happy to use government protection from dangerous outsiders. After all, Goldman Sake doesn’t sound quite right to the western ear.

Looking at the financial services industry today, whether on purpose or accident, it seems like past protectionist policies have held up quite well. A recent article in the Chicago Tribune highlighted some diversity statistics of financial services firms in the city where I received my MBA. In Chicago-area financial services firms: 67% of the overall financial services workforce is White, 12% is Black, 10% is Hispanic, and 9% is Asian. Now let’s review the next level: 74% of financial services’ midlevel officials are white, 10% are Hispanic, 8% are black, and 7% are Asian. Let’s look at the top shelf, where grandma hides the thin mints: 92% of senior officials in the financial services industry in Chicago are White, 3% are Black, 3% are Asian, and 2% are Hispanic.

You may wonder how Biglaw compares to the financial services industry. Earlier this year, the American Lawyer published the 2014 Diversity Scorecard revealing the legal industry’s diversity statistics nationally. In terms of minorities, 3% of the overall Biglaw sector is African-American, 2.7% is Hispanic and 6.3% is Asian-American (while 2.1% is other minorities). How about partnership statistics? I’m glad you asked. 1.9% of Biglaw partners nationally are African-American, 2.3% are Hispanic, and 2.7% are Asian-American (while .7% is other minorities). Now hold the phone, read the previous line again, and do some napkin math. Carry the two… yes this means, ironically enough, 92% of Biglaw partners nationally are White.

92% of senior officials in the financial industry where I received my MBA are White and 92% of Biglaw partners nationally are White. If you think it is misleading to compare a regional statistics of one industry with a national statistic of another, then you should check the diversity statistics for Biglaw in your local area and compare them to something you find important. You can create the benchmark. Some may wonder why I used the financial services industry in a Midwestern city as a comparison point or reference to the legal industry’s national marketplace. I think there is value in looking at different industries, markets, and sectors. The legal market doesn’t operate in a silo. Lack of diversity isn’t just a legal market issue. It’s an everyday issue. Eventually all the dots will connect. In his book “All the Little Live Things,” Wallace Stegner writes, “There is a sense in which we are all each other’s consequences.” Do you agree?

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For the record, this is what diversity currently looks like in the Dallas legal market. Yes, the diversity here is worse than the national average. Yes, there aren’t even enough Asians to warrant a category subset in these pie charts. No, I did not feel discriminated against during OCI in the least. Yes, one lawyer told me that his firm loved the “Oriental culture.” No, nobody uses the word Oriental anymore. You have to remember I came from the financial services industry, so it’s not like I view the legal industry as Pottersville.

But if the legal industry was Oz, I’d wish for diversity. Ironically enough, in Oz Dorothy finds out she already had the power inside of her to make what she wished for happen. She just needed to discover it for herself. Am I reaching too much with this Oz analogy? Is it too outdated? Damn it I’m in Texas, I should have gone with a Matthew Mcconaughey or Interstellar metaphor. What if the Dallas Biglaw market went from one of the least diverse in 2014/2015 to the most diverse law market in 2024/2025? With its advantages, why couldn’t Dallas achieve this? Starting with next year’s OCI, Dallas could go from 0 to 100 – real quick. If Dallas isn’t considered the greatest Biglaw legal market already, then with a meteoric rise in diversity statistics it could certainly make a case for it. I’m sure my New York, D.C., and California friends will let me know how big eyed and bushy tailed they think I am for writing the last line.

Renwei’s 92% Theorem: For any major U.S. industry, at least 92% of the top positions in that respective industry are white.

It bears repeating, 92% of senior officials in the financial industry where I received my MBA are White and 92% of Biglaw partners nationally are White. I hereby decree this phenomenon as Renwei’s 92% Theorem: For any major U.S. industry, at least 92% of the top positions in that respective industry are white – Fortune 500 CEOs, major record label executives, senior officials in the financial services industry, and Biglaw partners. This really can’t be true can it? If it is, then I may have the worst theorem ever! I would love to be proven wrong. In fact, I hope I am wrong. It feels wrong. I now find comfort in knowing that no theorem has a 100% certainty.

As an NBA fan, many of my friends point out (as they call me Jeremy Lin) that my prime sports entertainment, the NBA, isn’t the greatest when it comes to diversity. It’s actually better than they think. By some metrics, diversity in the NBA (23% minority) is actually better than diversity in Biglaw (19.5% minority). The Dallas Mavericks (20% minority) are more diverse than the Dallas Biglaw market (12% minority). Of course, the dominant share in each respective market is different, African American and White respectively.

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Diversity amongst NBA owners is a completely different story than the organization as a whole, but the same story we often witness. Diversity among NBA owners (1% minority) is on par with the diversity among Biglaw partners (7.5% minority). What do I consider “on par”? How about any industry position that is composed of 92% or more of one socioeconomic or racial class; some would say 75% is enough. I suppose my approach is little more nuanced.

What’s your definition of a monopoly? Some believe that the sheer size of something indicates a monopoly, but size is not characteristic of a monopoly. In economics, “a monopoly is a single seller.” In law, “a monopoly is a business entity that has significant market power, that is, the power to charge high prices.” Unlike the media tends to do, you should always be hesitant to label something. Besides, as an economist (OK fine, an MBA with an economic concentration), I would never call something a monopoly without doing a Herfindahl index or a Simpson diversity index analysis. What do you mean lawyers don’t do math? Well then how do they support their positions? How would they ever understand disparate treatment? I’m sure the lawyers who worked on Title VII, Griggs, and The Civil Rights Act of 1991 used quantitative data. Didn’t they?

Regardless, diversity among NBA players isn’t perfect so do I plan to advocate for more “Jeremy Lins“? Nope, not at all. Does this make me a walking contradiction? Would I be upset if the Dallas Mavericks were the least diverse team in the NBA? I’m not sure I would even notice. Would most people care? Probably not, especially if they won another championship! Just win baby! Some people may say, “See I told you, they won a championship and they had a majority of black players, therefore black players are better than other races.” This isn’t 1966, there is nothing to be gained from these type of claims. Some believe that legendary UK Basketball Coach Adolph Rupp was a racist, or was he just a product of his environment?

Everyone knows a black, brown, or yellow person at Harvard/Yale/Stanford, a Top 14 school, top 50 school, or a top 100 school. Please don’t be fooled into thinking that the exception, or a rarity, is the rule. Don’t let your case-based judgment cloud your perspective. Don’t fall victim to confirmation bias. Heuristics are all too common, but they are dangerous. We all have biases, but we don’t all need to have prejudices. If you remember one thing from this column, remember that ignorance is not bliss. Ignorance is not a victimless crime. Ignorance is haphazardly running red lights and assuming others will stop for you, because they always have stopped for you in the past. When you assume you make an ASS out of U and ME. Perhaps, Mr. West states it best, “We stopped the ignorance, we killed the enemies.”

Given the diversity statistics amongst NBA owners, I find it odd when ESPN tells me that former NBA Commissioner David Stern’s legacy is diversity. I don’t blame David Stern, after all, he was put in power and stayed in power by those in power. If anything, I would question NBA owners about the diversity amongst their ranks. Tell me more about your good ol’ boys club! Is Japanese whiskey really the best in the world? Damn it, they named it Yamazaki? Goldman Sake would have been the perfect name (discounting the fact that it’s a whiskey and not sake; and definitely not a scotch). Goldman Sake’s motto could be – “Don’t worry Scotland, America’s investment bankers hated us too at first, now they love us and so will you!” Please don’t patronize me ESPN. I like the NBA. I believe the players compete on a level playing field. I understand the diversity statistics amongst the players, I don’t understand it amongst the owners. Diversity at the top? No there’s not.

To believe I am advocating for diversity in Biglaw just for diversity’s sake would be to mistake my point entirely. To believe I am advocating for diversity at the expense of performance, diligence, and results is to misread this column. I have no problems with a true meritocracy, although there could be potential problems with an extreme implementation of it. Most believe America is a meritocracy, but is this true? I believe sports are the ultimate meritocracy.

Many people love sports and are drawn to them because they believe the respective platforms operate on level playing fields. A basketball rim is ten feet high wherever a player competes – a high school gym in Hickory, the historic Butler Fieldhouse, or the Boston Garden. But what happens when the playing field isn’t level? What happens when people stop believing a system is fair? I am curious about institutional discrimination and disparate treatment in a system. When does it exist? I want to understand the impacts of an uneven playing field. When is a system’s biases, preferences, narratives, dynamics, and environment inherently unfair? When is a system a de facto old boys’ club? When is this acceptable?

The carefully selected NBA players are employed to put the best entertainment package of skill, power, agility, and artistry on the court. Who gets to make these selection decisions? Why? Who makes the rules? How many NBA team owners are of color? Of the 49 NBA’s majority owners, Michael Jordan is the only person of color. Why do I focus on the owners? It’s simple, because the owners, as the top ranking officials of the clubs/franchises, are the key decision makers whom effectively run the NBA. Who would you focus on? The mascots? Go Pistons! For journalistic integrity, I did try to interview the Clipper’s and Hawk’s mascots for this column, but they were already embroiled in social-issues discussions with their team owners and front-offices. Diversity may or may not be a critical issue for NBA team owners, but then again maybe it could be.

In the three major sports industries – NBA, NFL, and MLB – there are 92 teams and only one black principal owner. That’s right, Michael Jordan is the only owner of color out of all 92 teams in the three major sports industries. There is my favorite “92” number popping up in the data again – Renwei’s 92% Theorem, by the strength of Samson himself, holds true! Is my 92% observation necessarily bad? Or is this case as many present-day athletes like to describe – “It is what it is.” Even if true – so what? Some would say just accept it and move on. After all, what could possibly be done about this? What should we do about it, if anything?

The NBA is not necessarily a pillar of diversity, but I love it anyway. A system doesn’t have to be diverse for me to love it, but when a system is not diverse I want to know why. Could I love Biglaw even though it is not diverse? That’s a good question. Whether I fall in love with it or not, I will always wonder why Biglaw is less diverse than the NBA. At least in basketball, I understand the rim is ten feet high for everybody competing in the game.

Some of you have mentioned to me that minorities prefer pro bono work and to hang their own shingle. I haven’t seen any data to support this theory. I would be surprised to see that minorities love pro bono and entrepreneurship that much more than their counterparts. I would be surprised to see such disparate data. In 2013, according to the NALP, 25% of law school graduates were minority, while 5.4% of equity partners were minority. Yes, the NALP statistic (200 law firms) of 5.4% minority partners is even lower then American Lawyer’s 7.6% minorities statistic (223 law firms). What if I told you 94%, instead of 92%, of all Biglaw partners are White? At what point, would it make a difference to you? At what point, would you want to make a difference?

92% of senior officials in the financial industry where I received my MBA are White and 92% of Biglaw partners nationally are White. Geez, I have written this four times now and I still get taken back every time I read this aloud. What’s your reaction? One statistic is derived from the third most populous city in the United States while the other statistic is derived from a national survey. But both reveal that over 90% of coveted positions in both industries in their respective markets are White.

Why do we see fewer minorities in senior management positions? Why are only 8% of Biglaw partners minorities? I have no idea. Maybe in the case of Asians, it’s because we are perceived as having less charisma than our white counterparts. Ouch, that’s some tough rice to swallow. I don’t know the exact statistics for top tech industry positions in Silicon Valley, but I’d venture they are similar to the statistics of finance and law. Oh, only 70 to 80 percent of the top management across the board is white? That’s progress right? The guesstimated Silicon Valley statistic may reveal that my 92% theorem is an incomplete proof. It may just be a conjecture.

Do you agree with Justice Roberts when he states, “The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race, is to stop discriminating on the basis of race?” Do you believe that treating people equally inherently leads to a more equal society and that racism and race privilege no longer exercise the power they once did? Or do you believe racism and white privilege remain defining features of American society and that “color-blindness” simply allows whites to ignore the disadvantages of the non-white population? Do you believe, as Christopher Doob states, “racial privilege no longer exists, but their behavior supports racialized structures and practices.”

Would you take it personally if I told you that we must stop making racism a personal thing? Our Supreme Court Justices all came from the same schools. Would you prefer anything different? Check Yes or No. Is it odd that there is more diversity amongst our nine Supreme Court Justices than amongst Biglaw partners?

In a recent NPR interview regarding his debut film “Rosewater,” John Stewart commented on whether the camera could be a weapon of its own. Stewart stated, “Bearing witness has its limitations as activism as well — that doesn’t mean that if you have the opportunity to do it, you don’t do it. Satire, or what we do on the show, certainly has its limitations, but I think we try to utilize it to the best of our ability. … I don’t see it as a weapon as much as I see it as a conversation … against dogma. … I see all of these shows as in some ways a weapon against complacency. … It’s an awfully complex ecosystem and it doesn’t exist on its own.”

Stewart’s nonchalant remarks describe exactly why I want to highlight the confounding statistics of the legal industry here in Dallas and nationally as well. I hope this column brings up conversation against dogma. I hope this column serves as a nexus for conversation about the homogenous culture of the legal industry in the United States. I hope this column serves as a weapon against complacency.

Now if I could only get someone like Jay-Z to rap about diversity in Biglaw, then it might become a mainstream issue. He might rap a lyric like, “I got 92 problems and diversity is one!” How cool would that be? But Jay-Z turned 45 last week (Dec. 4, 1969), and I’m not sure his contemporaries care to listen to a message about institutional discrimination and disparate treatment. I don’t necessarily blame them. If I ever heard a socially conscious song on the radio, then (like a fair share of my generation) I’d probably just change the channel in search of something more entertaining with a catchy beat. After all, what if someone told me 92% of all Biglaw partners are White? What would I do? Could I possibly make a difference? Could you? [Exit music, “Dark Fantasy” by Kanye West]

Renwei Chung is the DEI Columnist at Above the Law. He currently serves as a Board Advisor for The Diversity Movement (TDM), whose integrated approach enables law firms to build and strengthen culture by tying real-world business outcomes to DEI initiatives via a scalable subscription-based employee experience platform. And he is excited to host TDM’s and Footnote 4’s new podcast Charge the Wave — focused on entrepreneurs, executives, and icons who are assiduously building companies, cultures, and communities.

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