Biglaw, Minority Issues

Americans Rank Law Firms Dead Last In Commitment To Diversity

According to a new survey looking at 11 major industries, law firms are perceived to have the lowest commitment to diversity when it comes to hiring and retention.

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white men white male lawyers old young partner associate“First I took the time out, then I put the time in / Money ain’t everything, it’s more about the timing.” – Fabolous

This week, research experts McGinn and Company and Repass Research published a survey revealing that — among 11 major industries — law firms are perceived to have the lowest commitment to diversity when it comes to hiring and retention.

We already know that representation of minorities in the law has barely budged since 2000, and the 2020 data about our profession probably won’t be much different. “This should be a wake-up call for the legal profession. The public simply doesn’t believe that law firms care much about diversity,” said Dan McGinn of McGinn and Company. “Expectations are rising in this arena and the legal profession needs to move from laggard to leader.”

“One irony of this nation’s continuing struggle for diversity and gender equity in employment is that the profession leading the struggle has failed to set an example in its own workplaces,” according to Deborah L. Rhode, director of the Program in Law and Social Entrepreneurship at Stanford University. “In principle, the bar is deeply committed to equal opportunity and social justice. In practice, it lags behind other occupations in leveling the playing field.”

In the McGinn-Repass national diversity survey, 1,156 adult respondents rated eleven different industries — based on what they read or heard, or their own experience — on each industry’s respective efforts to attract and retain a diverse workforce. Based on these ratings, the industries were ranked by largest percent above average to lowest percent below average for perceived commitment to diversity. The final results were weighted based on gender, age, race and household income to be representative of the U.S. population.

Law firms came in dead last with a net-minus 1 score. Even with #OscarSoWhite, the media and entertainment industries ranked significantly higher for perceived commitment to diversity than the legal profession. Noticeably absent from this list is the technology industry. Do you believe the legal profession has a better or worse public perception of commitment to diversity than the technology sector?

Without further ado, here are the rankings (with percentage from average indicated parenthetically):

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  1. Higher Education (+43%)
  2. Healthcare (+35%)
  3. Restaurants (+34%)
  4. Hotels (+33%)
  5. Government (+29%)
  6. Manufacturing (+29%)
  7. Media (+24%)
  8. Entertainment (+23%)
  9. Finance (+9%)
  10. Accounting (+5%)
  11. Law Firms (-1%)

On Wednesday, I had the opportunity to catch up with research expert Dan McGinn to discuss this survey. Here is an excerpt from our conversation:

Renwei Chung (RC): According to your survey, Americans see the legal profession as the least committed industry to diversity in the nation. How would you explain these results?

Dan McGinn (DM): The public simply doesn’t believe that law firms care much about diversity. Our experience is that people are pretty savvy. They see government, higher education, and the entertainment and hospitality industry as more receptive to hiring a diverse workforce.

RC: What surprised you the most about the respondents’ answers to your survey?

DM: There were two surprising results. On a positive note, more than 7 out of 10 people believe that workplaces with a diverse employee base will be more successful. On a troubling note, the public believes that recent protests such as the Black Lives Matter campaign and the protest around the Oscars will make it harder to achieve an improvement in race relations.

RC: From your perspective, what can law firms do to change the public’s perception of their inclusiveness and also affect real change in their cultures and environments?

DM: The first thing law firms should do is recognize that diversity is a priority issue with the public. Pressure on professional firms of all types to increase their commitment to diversity will rise rapidly in the years ahead.

RC: Why do you believe diversity and inclusion is important to an industry?

DM: I won’t make the social, moral argument. I think that is self-evident. And I won’t make the economic argument either. My view of the importance of diversity is more fundamental. The 21st Century is about the race for brainpower. It’s true for every organization, community and country. And brainpower isn’t determined by race, gender, sexual preference, ethnicity, or religious views. There is only strategy for winning the brain race — hire the smartest people. Period.

At the end of our conversation, McGinn reminded me that this survey is purely about perception. There is a public awareness and concern about how law firms are dealing with diversity and inclusion, according to McGinn. He further stated that the margin of error and time to deal with these issues appropriately is whittling down.

This public perception poll should make clear to us in the legal profession that diversity and inclusion are no longer just internal issues that we on the inside are struggling to address. There is a public perception that the legal universe isn’t inclusive. In this case, is the public’s perception our reality?

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I happen to believe there are a number of law firms that are beginning to proactively address these issues, but as an industry we could do more. Law firms must substantively do more and do a better job of telling their story if they wish to effectively address the diversity crisis in our industry.

The time is more than ripe for us to change the narrative.

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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