Why Lack Of Diversity Isn't Biglaw's Fault

Biglaw gets a lot of flack for its lack of diversity. But is it really Biglaw's fault?

Or, at least, not entirely Biglaw’s fault.

The lack of Biglaw diversity isn’t news. We track it with rankings, rankings, and more rankings. Occasionally, people even propose solutions.

The point is there’s a lack of diversity when it comes to women and minorities in the ranks of Biglaw and usually the finger gets pointed right back at the Biglaw bigshots for failing to demonstrate enough commitment to the cause.

But maybe this is a bit unfair. Perhaps Biglaw’s remediation efforts are obscured. That’s the nuanced point hinted at by Jami McKeon, Chair of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius in this interview recorded at Bloomberg BNA’s Big Law Business Summit.

The contention that corporate clients poach talented, diverse lawyers from Biglaw is certainly underreported and undersells the extent of Biglaw’s gains in this area over the last 30 years. If one of the goals of diversity in hiring is not just bringing on diverse employees, but giving them training and opportunities to build careers, then this aspect of Biglaw hiring should not be overlooked.

On the other hand, as a sports fan this reminds me of the lament of college athletic directors over the dearth of black coaches in the college football ranks. Every year, at least one college football power broker will be asked about the lack of diversity and point the finger at the NFL and claim that its diversity hiring policy — both longer-standing and more robust than anything in college — draws minority coaching talent away from the college ranks at every opportunity.

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This isn’t to say that Biglaw isn’t making strides to address the problem, but ultimately this just admits that corporate America is doing a better job than Biglaw when it comes to tackling diversity. After all, the law firm has to consider not only what makes a lawyer leap in-house, but what makes a diverse lawyer specifically leap in-house? Are there opportunities in-house that he or she don’t see within Biglaw? Those are important questions to answer because keeping diversity at the top is crucial in building a diverse environment through mentoring relationships, hiring guidance, and simply by serving as role models to demonstrate that diverse lawyers have a future with the firm.

McKeon’s plan to get more aggressive with recruiting is the ideal short-term plan and about all a law firm can do until it figures out how to solve the question of why clients are so much more attractive than Biglaw. But, over the long-term, perhaps it’s time for firms to start looking inward to seek out a retention solution.

Big Law’s Race And Gender Problem [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA]

Earlier: The Best Law Firms For Diversity (2016)
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3 Things Law Firms Can Do Right Now To Increase Diversity In The Legal Profession

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