Biglaw

Paul Weiss 'Addresses' Partnership Diversity Kerfuffle

The firm is doing the right thing... but maybe not as eloquently as it could.

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While firms never want to be haled into the court of public opinion over something like this, the mark of a good firm is to suck it up and take on the matter directly. So when Paul Weiss found itself facing criticism over its new partnership class — or, perhaps more so, the way it advertised its new partnership class with a white-male dominated collage — the firm took swift action.

The firm scheduled a town hall meeting to discuss the issue and its broader diversity efforts on January 14. A meeting may not seem like a radical step, but in a world where Biglaw firms are quick to ignore their problems and hope they go away, Paul Weiss is showing the right instinct to offer transparency and share the “concrete strategic initiatives” the firm has to get this right.

As an issue, this diversity stumble was always a bit out of character for Paul Weiss, notably one of the firms in Microsoft’s diversity program that offers bonuses for firms willing to demonstrate a concrete commitment to diversity. But it’s also a sign that unconscious biases are everywhere and the first step to combatting them is not to be afraid to admit that they exist. At an ABA meeting earlier this year, I moderated an informative conversation on the subject and the experts all agreed that people need to be less paralyzed by shame — or, worse, denial — of these biases and more willing to accept that they exist through no conscious effort and then work to ameliorate them.

No one saw a problem with this collage when they should have. But that’s water under the bridge. What matters more is acknowledging it and doing something about it. This town hall is a good first step.

Paul Weiss Chair Brad Karp reached out to Above the Law to discuss the matter, but we haven’t been able to connect.

So that all sounds like the exactly the correct response to this, right? And it is! So why the awkward quotes around “addresses” in the headline? Well, because…

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Oh… that’s an unfortunate misuse of scare quotes and we just have to tweak them on this. We get what he means and contextually this is a positive message. But, you know, maybe there’s still some work to be done in mastering how to talk about these subjects. In general, don’t put anything in quotation marks that you wouldn’t be willing to sarcastically put air quotes around in conversation. That’s my advice.

Still, if you are a “minority” or someone with a “vagina” then feel free to discuss these issues at the meeting.

Earlier: Paul Weiss Press Release Captures Everything Broken About Biglaw In One Image

HeadshotJoe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news.

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