Black Biglaw Partner Isn't Buying Into The Latest In-House BS On Law Firm Diversity

He says these claims from the in-house world are 'viewed as empty PR ploys, devoid of any real measures of accountability.'

Don Prophete (Photo via Constangy Brooks)

Despite my success in the profession, my significant name recognition and my trial skills, I have never in 28 years of practice had a single GC reach out to me based on reputation, pedigree or skill to hire me for a major matter, like many of my white counterparts have been. Every single retention I have ever gained, whether common or bet-the-company, has been based on significant marketing and sweat. This is highly unusual for a majority lawyer of my achievements.

So, what am I really saying? Stated in simple English, these signatory letters have been more public relations than actual practice. Except for a handful of GCs, signing on to these letters is a politically necessary thing to do, which ultimately requires zero accountability. So, it’s an activity that is all win with no drawback. Ask yourselves how many of these same GCs take any real measures to diversify the lawyers they hire on their meaningful matters. Very few do. …

My suggestion, and that of many of my colleagues, is that we should stop these grandiose pronouncements that continue to lead to no real improvement. They are viewed as empty PR ploys, devoid of any real measures of accountability. These repeated statements also lead to diversity fatigue in the profession, which is where I think we are now.

When companies are genuinely desirous of committing resources and real efforts to diversify the profession, I can assure you that it will not be this difficult and they will see immediate improvements and result.

Don Prophete, a partner at Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete (in fact, “the only black lawyer to ever have his name added to the masthead of an Am Law 250 law firm”), commenting on the recent letter signed by more than 170 general counsel and corporate legal officers, blasting law firms for their lack of diversity and promising to take their business elsewhere if improvements were not made.


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Staci ZaretskyStaci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.

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