Biglaw

The Best Biglaw Firms For Minority Attorneys (2019)

Did your law firm make the cut for this important metric?

By  
on

The legal sector continues to be one of the least diverse professions in the country. While more than 30 percent of law students are minorities, just over 16 percent of lawyers and about 9 percent of partners are attorneys of color. In fact, the number of minority equity partners has only increased from 7.1 percent to 8.6 percent since 2014. Racial diversity in law firms seems to have effectively flatlined, leaving minority lawyers at a disadvantage.

Thankfully, corporate clients have demanded more diversity in the legal teams that staff their matters, which has in turn driven elite law firms to recruit more minority attorneys and increase their inclusion efforts. At some of the very best law firms, minority attorneys are mentored, sponsored, and pushed to build networks that will allow them to receive an invitation to the partnership ranks.

In order to recognize the Biglaw firms that take special efforts to maintain diversity among their ranks, Law360 (sub. req.) has created a list of the top law firms for minority attorneys. These firms were first grouped by headcount, and then ranked according to the percentage of minority attorneys at the nonpartner and partner level.

In the biggest of Biglaw category (600+ attorneys), the top five firms are:

1. Wilson Sonsini: 20.4 percent minority equity partners
2. Morrison & Foerster: 17.3 percent
2. Paul Hastings: 13.8 percent
4. Sheppard Mullin: 11.8 percent
5. Cleary Gottlieb: 13.1 percent

For Biglaw firms with slightly smaller headcount (300-599 attorneys), the best for minority lawyers are:

1. Fragomen: 23.5 percent minority equity partners
2. Fenwick & West: 13.8 percent
3. Fish & Richardson: 10.0 percent
4. Shearman & Sterling: 13.2 percent
5. Crowell & Moring: 8.7 percent

Sponsored

For the smallest Biglaw firms (150-299 attorneys), these are best for lawyers of color:

1. Knobbe Martens: 18 percent minority equity partners
2. Procopio Cory: 12.8 percent
3. Shutts & Bowen: 18.2 percent
4. Best Best & Krieger: 23.2 percent
5. Atkinson Andelson: 32.1 percent
5. Munger Tolles: 19.0 percent

Check out Law360 for rankings of the smallest law firms (20 to 149 attorneys).

Strategies for ensuring minority lawyers have a good shot at making partner differ from firm to firm, and include formal mentorship programs, business marketing workshops, and integration into the firm’s community at large. These measures have been met with success, but there is still a difficult road ahead.

While these firms should be applauded for their efforts to increase racial diversity, there is still much more work to be done. Congratulations to all the firms listed!

Sponsored

The Best Firms For Minority Attorneys (2019) [Law 360 (sub. req.)]

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.

Topics

, , , ,