Category: Legal Recruiting

Achieving Success in the Legal Profession: Women Helping Women

National Association of Women Lawyers

The National Association of Women Lawyers (“NAWL”) is 115 years old this year.  It is not only the oldest women’s bar association, it is also the only national bar association for women, dedicated to advancing women lawyers and the interests and rights of women under the law.  NAWL truly is the voice of women in the law™.

As the voice of women in the law, in 2006, NAWL challenged corporations and law firms to double their number of women general counsel and equity partners from 15% to 30% by 2015.  Recent statistics indicate that the “NAWL Challenge” for corporate legal departments in Fortune 500 corporations is close to being met.  Women today comprise close to 30% of General Counsels, when only a few years ago they comprised only 15% of the General Counsels in the same companies.   This achievement is in sharp contrast to the fate of women lawyers in the 200 largest U.S. law firms (“AmLaw 200”), where women have stagnated at 17% or less of those law firms’ equity partners since NAWL’s annual survey of the advancement of women lawyers began.

To be sure, there are thousands of women lawyers in this country in many different practice settings who have advanced, are leaders, and love the practice of law.  I am one of them and have spent almost 35 years loving what I do as a professional each and every day.   Many of NAWL’s leaders and members have similar feelings. As an organization, NAWL brings those lawyers together whenever it can to share their experiences with younger lawyers and impart views as to how the practice of law can be a nurturing professional experience for women, and one in which they can achieve whatever success they desire.

This year’s NAWL Annual Meeting on July 24-25, 2013, at the Waldorf=Astoria in New York, brings together the remarkable attorneys who are the NAWL Annual honorees; an exceptional series of CLE programs that will benefit younger lawyers in their career development, to more senior lawyers, in theirs; and networking opportunities that will help lawyers advance in their careers and defy the statistics.

The Annual Meeting is the culmination of a year in which NAWL presented its three major national programs—the 8th Annual General Counsel Institute, its Mid-Year Meeting and now the Annual Meeting—and several regional programs, all designed around the central theme of what women lawyers in different practice settings, at different stages of their careers, need to advance into the upper echelons of the legal profession.   At the Annual Meeting, NAWL will honor lawyers who have advanced women and women lawyers in a variety of ways:   Yale Law School Professor Judith Resnik, for her work in advancing women and women lawyers in the justice system; Sheila Kearney Davidson and the corporate law department that she heads (New York Life Insurance Company), for their work together in advancing women lawyers in the corporate setting; Veta Richardson, for her tireless work in promoting diversity in the legal profession; Catherine Douglass, founder of inMotion, for her inspirational work in helping women under the law; Daniel Goldstein, for the example he sets for all by his devotion to the advancement of women in the corporate setting; and four outstanding members of NAWL—April Boyer, Sandra Cassidy, Jennifer Champlin and Elizabeth Levy—for their hard work in helping NAWL provide its members, and women lawyers across the country, with the skills and strategies they need to chart their own course and reach the highest echelons of the profession.

The July 25th Annual Meeting will conclude with a networking reception with a philanthropic bent (a NAWL Night of Giving), which will benefit inMotion and its remarkable efforts on behalf of victims of domestic violence.   The Annual Meeting events will be preceded by an afternoon of NAWL committee and practice group meetings on July 24th.       The two-day event will bring together women lawyers from across the country and will inspire them in their efforts to achieve what they aspire to in their own careers and to help their colleagues, and those coming along behind them, in achieving their own aspirations.

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Third-Party Litigation Funding Comes of Age

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Law firm Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) are on the front line of client development, and thus have an unobstructed view of how the legal market for complex litigation is developing. As budget pressures continue to weigh on corporate general counsel, the need for law firms to adjust their pricing to secure new clients is clearly being felt – some firms are now hiring specialty personnel to focus solely on the question of proper pricing. CMOs are thus actively speaking the lingua franca of today’s latest fee structures – from RFPs to AFAs and discounted fees.

Given this, it is surprising to discover that many otherwise business savvy CMOs know little about the emergence of commercial litigation finance. While some are keenly aware of the new industry’s progress – and eager to share their involvement in the funding of multiple cases – others are seemingly unfamiliar with the advent of specialist funding companies and the business development opportunities that they could present for them.

In fairness, due to the often confidential nature of commercial litigation finance, the commercial litigation finance industry has been somewhat constrained in publicizing itself. One example of this is at a recent conference I sat next to the sharp CMO of a top firm who asked me what litigation finance did and what company I worked for. I explained to him that we financed legal fees in multi-million dollar cases, and that we had recently funded a case involving his own firm!

At its most basic level, litigation finance is very straightforward. A third-party funds legal fees and expenses associated with a litigation or arbitration, in return for a portion of the ultimate proceeds (settlement or judgment), if any. Importantly, the funding is typically “non-recourse”, meaning that if there is no recovery for the plaintiff, the litigation financier receives no fee.

Claimants have historically found ways to fund their cases – with available capital, through a bank loan, or by agreeing to a contingency fee with their attorney. What has changed recently is the emergence of specialty finance companies that limit their work to the financing of litigation. These firms – which first appeared in Australia a decade ago, and are now active in the United Kingdom and the United States.  They typically invest in large-scale and complex commercial litigation, with investments (and thus legal fees) on the order of several million dollars.

Not all cases are appropriate for litigation financing, and certain criteria must be met as part of a careful due diligence process. Four considerations include:

  1. the merits of the claim – the case must stand a very strong chance of success on the law and facts;
  2. the ratio of costs/proceeds – the ratio of legal fees (and other costs) must be in proper proportion to the expected proceeds (to allow for reasonable costs associated with financing – typically a ratio of at least 1:4 is required);
  3. the duration of the proceedings – as the cost of financing will usually be related to the time the case takes to resolve (given the time value of money), notice must be paid to the expected length of the case; and
  4. the enforceability of judgment – it must be clear at the outset that, if the claim is successful, the plaintiff will be able to collect its judgment from the defendant.

Once an investment is made, litigation financiers are careful as to their involvement in a given case. Important rules of legal ethics are respected so that the funder does not interfere with case strategy, settlement decisions, or the attorney-client relationship. And, as mentioned above, the financing is typically kept confidential between the parties.

Given the challenge of drawing in new clients, law firm CMOs must leverage every available advantage. In several business development scenarios, the prospect of litigation finance can help:

  • Fee negotiations – in situations where a client would prefer to work with a given firm – but the client will not (or cannot) pay the firm’s standard hourly fees – financing can be used to pay such fees and allow the case to proceed;
  • Alternative to contingency fee – in situations where a firm is asked to act on a contingency fee basis, a litigation financier can step in to provide a similar result: the firm receives its standard hourly fees, paid for by the funder, which in turn only receives compensation in the event of a “win” (sometimes referred to as a “synthetic contingency”);
  • RFP (request for proposal) – in situations where an RFP has been issued by a potential client, a firm’s response may be better received if it makes proper mention of litigation finance as an innovative variation to AFA (alternative fee arrangements); and
  • Fee “fatigue” – in situations where an existing client involved in extended litigation has begun to express concern regarding mounting fees (perhaps on the eve of trial), litigation finance can offer immediate cash-flow relief and allow the firm to receive its full fees.

In short, litigation finance can offer law firm CMOs (and anyone involved in legal business development) a new tool with which to hammer out difficult pricing issues and fee structures for big-ticket litigation.

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A Review of Legal Technology and Innovation: Leopard Solutions

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In review is Leopard Solutions, provider of an online legal technology service that compiles, tracks and delivers a wealth of information about law firms and attorneys across the country.

History Behind the Technology and Origins in Legal Recruiting

Leopard Solutions is the brainchild of Laura Leopard, an actress turned legal recruiter turned Founder and CEO of the Leopard Solutions system. The origin of the system initially occurred in the midst of her acting career, when Ms. Leopard worked as a cold caller for legal recruiters and discovered a severe lack of accessible information. At that point, Ms. Leopard first conceived of the Leopard List, the premier informational database offered by Leopard Solutions, now one among other such systems featured. From a simple Excel spreadsheet that contained the Leopard List, Ms. Leopard eventually developed an innovative online resource for the legal community.

Intelligence Programs and Strategic Data Directed Towards the Legal Community

Leopard Solutions offers comprehensive and strategic data captured in various intelligence programs directed towards different sectors of the legal community, including law firms, legal recruiters and law students. These are ‘live databases” which are updated on a weekly basis. Firmscape, their law firm intelligence program, is updated any time new data becomes available. For instance, if new salary information becomes available or a new office is opened, it can be immediately added to the program.)  On the day I spoke with Ms. Leopard, the system monitored a total of 183 new associates joining law firms, 71 practitioners being promoted to partner status and 86 partners leaving their firm positions.

The Leopard List: Attorney Database & Lateral Recruitment Tool

Among these databases is the Leopard List, which houses information across the spectrum of attorneys, including partners, counsels and associates, from over 1600 law firms in 23 U.S. markets. Attorneys can be searched by their practice area, JD year, law school, states admitted to practice and more. Moreover, a click of the practitioner’s name conveniently yields his or her law firm attorney profile and users can search these biographies by keyword. The Leopard staff is assigned to read and manually peruse each individual law firm attorney profile to verify all of the information stored in the system. This “personal touch” extends to any gaps of information– Leopard has been known to reach out to the firm for details if need be.

In addition, the system reveals an attorney’s  “professional history” that tracks any change in the practitioner’s status, including lateral employment moves and promotions within the firm, moves from previous law firms and name changes. In other words, no need for a Google search– Leopard hand-delivers the nuts and bolts.

Firmscape: Law Firm Intelligence

Firmscape serves as another example of Leopard successfully consolidating and analyzing information, in this instance by capturing a big-picture view of the legal industry. To say Firmscape collects a snapshot of the legal industry is an understatement- rather, this system showcases the evolution of the industry. Perhaps most helpful to legal recruiters, Firmscape sizes up the top law firms in the country and their starting salaries, practitioner lateral moves, and growth in practicing areas, among other aspects. Like the Leopard List, Firmscape is easily navigated and can be mined for reports on specific variables, such as practice area, specialty, firm history and promotion record.

Other Intelligence Programs for the Legal Community

Other systems include Leopard Reporting, which gives an overview of all the law firms in the system (currently 1666); Leopard Job Search, which monitors 655 law firms twice a day for job postings; Leopard Solutions for Law School, which offers law firm resource tools to law students; the Leopard Job Board, geared towards both legal recruiters and applicants; and Leopard Solutions Hot Spot, which aggregates all national news available for the firms amassed in the database.

A Technological Model for Timely, Interactive and Dynamic Data

Perhaps most notable about Leopard Solutions is the absence of any parallel technology in the market. The company’s model of keeping law firms under its radar and going to long lengths to obtain searchable data distinguishes it from other models which rely exclusively on web crawlers or press for information. In addition, Leopard’s model reaches far beyond displaying data but permits the viewer to target and interact with the information though reports and keyword searches. Finally, the company aims to stay reactionary, current and attuned with the needs of the market. Ms. Leopard often relies on clients’ counsel to further develop their system. A cutting-edge product, Leopard Solutions keeps up with the fluctuating legal landscape with its efficiency and accuracy.

FATCA Implementation Summit – June 17, 2013

The National Law Review is pleased to bring you information about the upcoming FATCA Implementation Summit.

FACTA

When:

June 17 – 18, 2013

Where:

The Princeton Club
15 West 43rd Street
New York, NY 10036
212-596-1200

The final regulations are out and FATCA implementation dates are closer than ever! The compliance ball is rolling and funds should have their implementation plans already underway. The FATCA Implementation Summit will examine what funds should have done so far, what is next on the list, and what is still unknown. Our expert speaking faculty is prepared to answer all of your FATCA-related questions – including significant changes revealed in the final regulations, timelines, best practices and procedural benchmarks, new and updated forms, and so much more!

This is the ONLY industry event that addresses the unique challenges alternative funds face under the sweeping FATCA regime. We’ll dig deep into questions about how FATCA is playing out in practice – operational challenges, due diligence and on-boarding requirements, responsible parties, outsourcing– and more!

You can’t afford to miss this essential event!

This event is part of a two-day compliance intensive. For information on day two, Preparing for the AIMFD, click here. Register for both events to receive a discounted rate.

Topics at a Glance –

  • FATCA Today: Overview and Timeline of the Final Regulations
  • Who is Affected by FATCA? – Update on Definitions and Classifications
  • Entering into the FFI Agreement: Registering as an FFI with the IRS
  • Managing Your Clients: Due Diligence in Identifying Existing Investors and Developing On-Boarding Processes for New Investors
  • Reporting and Withholding Obligations Under the FATCA Regime
  • Determining FATCA Compliance with IGA Countries
  • Practical Implementation – Putting it all Together
  • Outsourcing – The Risks and the Rewards

ABA Aviation Litigation 2013 Conference – June 06, 2013

The National Law Review is pleased to bring you information about the upcoming Aviation Litigation 2013 Conference.

ABA Aviation Litigation

When

June 06, 2013

Where

  • The University Club
  • 1 W 54th St
  • New York, NY 10019
  • United States of America

Prominent industry insiders, including mass tort litigators, assemble for one day to share essential strategies and personal experiences on the best ways to handle mass disaster claims.

Attendees of this National Institute will:

  • Participate in the analysis of a mock aviation accident case
  • Review recent case law developments in leading aviation industry cases
  • Observe effective ways to present and cross-examine the causation expert from adept Aviation Bar attorneys
  • Watch TrialGraphix facilitate a mock trial; including case presentations and live deliberations

Improving the Return on Investment of Your Legal Marketing Dollars

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At the end of April, Avvo hosted its “Lawyernomics” conference.  Some 300 lawyers from across the country assembled at the Bellagio in Las Vegas to hear from speakers from a variety of disciplines and communications platforms (including representatives from Avvo, Twitter and Yelp).  Although a wealth of information was shared, there was a broad, tactical theme that permeated the entire program:  Improving return on a firm’s business development investment.

Choosing Your Investments Wisely

For an industry that pays so much to get in front of consumers, lawyers are often poor at converting interested consumers into paying clients.  Similarly, even those firms investing heavily in numerous forms of advertising – online and traditional – usually don’t have a clear picture of which of those advertising channels are effective.  They’re left to “go by gut” when choosing whether to continue investing in an advertising campaign.

The lowest-hanging fruit in this area is establishing systems for following up with client inquiries.  It should be simple, but far too many firms don’t have adequate processes in place to ensure that consumer inquiries are immediately followed up on.  With the likelihood of making contact with someone who leaves a message plummeting within minutes of their reaching out, establishing a follow-up system is critical.  Doing so involves a mix of “rules and tools.”  The “rules” are business processes established and monitored to ensure that phones are covered, calls are answered, and inquiries get an immediate response.  The “tools” can be as simple as an excel spreadsheet tracking inbound inquiries to as sophisticated as powerful Customer Relationship Management (“CRM”) systems such as Salesforce or Avvo Ignite.

Measuring Marketing Channel’s Effectiveness

Having a good system for contact and customer management is key to calculating marketing channel effectiveness. Used diligently, the CRM tools of such a system will tell the firm where each inquiry originates from (its website, a search marketing campaign, the Yellow Pages, etc.). Over a period of months, the firm will then be able to tell the rate at which those inquiries turn into actual clients. This may show, for example, that while a conference sponsorship is driving a lot of calls, such contacts become clients at a far lower rate than the smaller number of calls and appointments generated from a webinar. When all marketing platforms are matched up, the most successful ones should stand out for future business development projections and budget reviews.

By layering the cost of these marketing initiatives on the number of clients generated, a firm can get a very clear picture of the return on investment of each channel (i.e., what it costs to generate a client).  That information allows the firm to identify those channels where it can profitably increase its marketing investment – and those that it needs to cut loose.

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False Claims Trial Institute – June 05 – 07, 2013

The National Law Review is pleased to bring you information about the upcoming False Claims Trial Institute.

False Claims Institute

When

June 05 – 07, 2013

Where

  • The Liaison Capitol Hill An Affinia Hotel
  • 415 New Jersey Ave NW
  • Washington, DC 20001-2001
  • United States of America

As the number of False Claims Act cases filed, and settled, continues to rise, an increasing number of cases are litigated through discovery and trial. This one-of-a-kind institute will focus on the discovery, evidentiary, and trial challenges that must be successfully overcome to try a False Claims Act case. The capstone of the program will be a two-day mock FCA trial, from voir dire through jury deliberations.

Attendees of this program will improve their knowledge of the challenges involved in litigating a False Claims Act case, including::

  • Developing trial themes and a litigation plan
  • Obtaining discovery from the government
  • Building or limiting damages
  • Assessing and reducing the risk of exclusion

Women In-House Counsel Achieve Success

The National Association of Women Lawyers (“NAWL”) is 114 years old this year. It is not only the oldest women’s bar association, it is also the only national bar association for women, dedicated to advancing women lawyers and the interests and rights of women under the law. NAWL truly is the voice of women in the law™.

In the last few years, NAWL has seen women lawyers working within in-house corporate legal departments begin to make great strides in their advancement into leadership positions and break through into the higher echelons of the General Counsel’s Office. In 2006, NAWL challenged corporations and law firms to double their number of women general counsel and equity partners from 15% to 30% by 2015. Recent statistics indicate that the “NAWL Challenge” for corporate legal departments in the Fortune 500 corporations already has been met. Women today comprise 30% of General Counsels, when only a few years ago they comprised only 15% of the General Counsels in the same companies. This achievement is in sharp contrast to the fate of women lawyers in the 200 largest U.S. law firms (“AmLaw 200”), where women have stagnated at 17% of equity partners since NAWL’s annual survey of advancement of women lawyers within the AmLaw 200 began.

How have women in corporate legal departments been able to achieve their climb up the corporate ladder — at least compared to the glacial movement of women in large private law firms? Certainly the advancement is due, in part, to the women who have come before them, the trailblazers who always reached back and brought other women along with them, who always were available for consultation and advice and shared their insights and perspectives. It is also due to top-down management and implementation of diversity and inclusion objectives instilled in the corporations by their business leaders and boards of directors. And, I am proud to say that in part the achievements of corporate in-house counsel are due to programs, like the General Counsel Institute (“GCI”), that help to define best practices for women in-house lawyers to achieve their personal and professional aspirations and facilitate their advancement.

This year’s 8th Annual GCI promises to make its own significant contribution to that effort. SUCCESS STRATEGIES—Defining Success and Adding Value as In-House Counsel in the 21st Century will be held at the Intercontinental Times Square in New York City on November 8 and 9, 2012. Highlighting the event will be the plenary sessions, including:

•“Success”—Going Beyond Webster’s Definition, an interactive session focused
on personal definitions of success;

•The Road to Chief Legal Officer, presented by a panel of successful General
Counsels;

•The Myth of the Ideal Worker: Does Doing the Right Thing Really Help Women
Get Ahead?, a panel discussion of practical advice based on research conducted
by Catalyst; and

•Speak Your Truth, Colette Carlson’s presentation on the art of effective self-
promotion).

Breakout sessions will offer three tracks to expand the knowledge of in-house counsel on topics critical to their role in the 21st century: Hot Topics; Turning Crisis into Triumph; and Successful Legal Departments, Successful Companies. Participants will be inspired by remarkable luncheon keynote speakers Sheila Davidson, Executive Vice President, Chief legal Officer and General Counsel of New York Life; and Diana Nyad, one of the world’s greatest long-distance swimmers, author and sports announcer.

The timeliness of the educational programs, the wisdom imparted by the keynote speakers and the unparalleled networking opportunities will offer significant guidance and assistance to in-house counsel as they strive to achieve continued success for themselves and their companies. For more information on GCI8, go to www.nawl.org.

Copyright ®, 2012 National Association of Women Lawyers

Diversity and Its Impact on the Legal Profession

Recently posted in the National Law Review an article by Jon Minners of Vault Inc. regarding the importance of diversity in law firms:

“Diversity is a very critical element of our society,” said Robert J. Grey, Jr.—a partner at law firm Hunton & Williams—during a keynote speech at the 6th Annual Vault/MCCA Legal Diversity Career Fair, held on Friday, July 29, 2011 in Washington, D.C.

In discussing his path to Washington and Lee University School of Law, Grey engaged the audience with a story about his first meeting with the then-dean of the law school.  While his story was filled with humor, Grey conveyed an important message: rather than judging a book by its cover, the dean gave Grey the opportunity to fulfill his dream of becoming a lawyer.  Grey—who formerly served as president of the American Bar Association—has been an influential voice in the legal profession through his work and his commitments to pro bono and diversity.  He was nominated by President Obama to serve as a Board Member of the Legal Services Corporation—a post he now fills—and also currently serves as the Executive Director of the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity.

“Recognizing talent and giving it a chance – that’s what diversity is about,” said Grey.

Grey’s speech formed a fitting backdrop for the day as hundreds of minority, female, LGBT candidates and candidates with disabilities gathered at the Renaissance Hotel in downtown D.C. to speak with recruiters and hiring partners from law firms, as well as corporate and government employers.  Earlier in the week, candidates and legal employers on the West Coast participated in the career fair at the Westin Bonaventure in downtown Los Angeles.

Vault kicked off the career fair in D.C. by honoring the Top 25 Law Firms for Overall Diversity, Top 3 Law Firms for Diversity for LGBT, Top 3 Law Firms forDiversity for Women and Top 3 Law Firms for Diversity for Minorities. While recognizing that diversity is important throughout all careers, Vault.com‘s Law Firm Diversity Rankings focus on the legal profession. These rankings are the result of a survey taken by close to 16,000 law firm associates throughout the country.  This year, and for the third consecutive year, Carlton Fields was ranked the No. 1 Firm for Overall Diversity.

“This represents how far we have come as a nation and an industry,” said Gary Sasso, President and CEO of Carlton Fields, during the award ceremony.  “We have a very long-standing tradition of diversity.  We like to say we celebrate diversity in all things at all times.  It’s in our DNA.”

And it is fast becoming part of the DNA of many organizations who truly see the potential of a more diverse office makeup.  During a panel discussion moderated by Vault.com law editor Mary Kate Sheridan, various professionals in the legal industry weighed in on the subject and discussed ways to make sure that diversity is not just an idea, but a part of the everyday practice.

“Diversity wasn’t really something on top of anyone’s discussion list in the 80s,” said Jackie Stone, a partner at the law firm McGuireWoods.  “But it is an important discussion today.”

Thomas E. Zutic, a partner at the law firm DLA Piper, stated that because of its importance today, “diversity is not about window dressing.  It’s not a one time, show off to the client aspect of business.”

Stone added: “Clients are watching very closely.  They want to see that diversity continues in terms of who actually gets to do the work.”

Lori L. Garrett, vice president and managing director of the southeast region of theMinority Corporate Counsel Association (MCCA), said that once you recruit diverse talent, the best way to keep them is to make them feel like they are part of the team.  “Mentoring is one of the most important ways anyone can connect to supervisors,” she said.  “They understand what it takes to reach the next level, but diverse employees should not just speak to supervisors.  They need to create relationships everywhere.”

Zutic also noted that diverse candidates need to make sure they take ownership of their careers by making themselves desirable candidates.  “Grades are still important,” he said, noting that students should approach law school as their jobs and perform as well there as they would in their careers.  “It’s so basic, but it’s so important,” he said.  “We can talk diversity, but in the end, if you are not bringing the right skill set and the right credentials, it’s not going to work.”

© 2011 Vault.com Inc.

Outgoing ABA President Carolyn Lamm Discusses Next Steps to Achieving a More Diverse Legal Profession

The Business of Law Guest Blogger this week at the National Law Review is Vera Djordjevich of Vault Inc. with an interview of outgoing ABA President Carolyn Lamm Discussing the  Next Steps to Achieving a More Diverse Legal Profession. 

 On July 30, 2010, Vault and the Minority Corporate Counsel Association (MCCA) held their 5th Annual Legal Diversity Career Fair at the Renaissance Hotel in Washington, D.C. More than 1,000 law students and lateral associates registered for the event, where hiring partners and recruiters from some 30 law firms, government agencies and corporate law departments were on hand to meet with candidates, review their resumes, offer advice and answer questions.

The event kicked off with a special breakfast where Brian Dalton, Vault’s managing editor, unveiled the company’s 2011 Law Firm Diversity Rankings, the result of Vault’s annual Law Firm Associate Survey. Vault also honored the Top 20 law firms—led by this year’s overall winner, Carlton Fields—who were the most highly rated by their own associates for their commitment to hiring, retaining and promoting diverse attorneys.

The event’s lunch featured Carolyn Lamm, outgoing president of the American Bar Association and a partner at White & Case, as the keynote speaker. Recently named one of “Washington’s Most Influential Women Lawyers” by The National Law Journal, Ms. Lamm has, during her tenure as ABA president, established a Presidential Commission on Diversity as well as a Commission on the Impact of the Economic Crisis on the Profession and Legal Needs. On August 10, 2010, Ms. Lamm turns over the helm to President-Elect Stephen Zack, a partner at Boies, Schiller and Flexner and the first Hispanic American to serve as ABA president. 

Before her address, Ms. Lamm sat down with me to discuss the state of diversity in law firms, highlight some of the ABA’s goals and initiatives, and forecast what a truly diverse profession will look like.

VAULT:  How would you characterize the state of diversity in the legal profession today? 

In a word: evolving. In 2009, the ABA conducted an extensive national assessment of the state of diversity in the legal profession, including hearings held around the United States—with practitioners, academics, corporate counsel—whose results were synthesized into a report, “Diversity in the Legal Profession: The Next Steps.” We found that, although our profession today is more diverse and inclusive, and has made significant advances, many obstacles to free and equal professional success remain. For example:

  • While women make up just over half of the U.S. population and half of the entering classes in law schools, they represent one third of the lawyer population, about 18 percent of law firm equity partners and 20 to 25 percent of the judiciary.  
  • Racial and ethnic minorities make up approximately one third of the U.S. population, but they represent only 10 percent of the lawyer population, less than 16 percent of judges and 6 percent of equity partners.

These numbers do not nearly reflect the diverse range of talent in our profession. Our lack of diversity runs counter to the promise of fairness and equality that is our profession’s bedrock, depriving the community of a bench that reflects the community and of legal advice that is a product of diverse views.

VAULT:  What are the principal challenges to increasing diversity at law firms?

First, through what are known as “pipeline programs,” we need to get more racial and ethnic minorities into law school. We must do all we can to encourage young people of all backgrounds that a career in the law can be fulfilling, and that we welcome them to the profession. Through educational and scholarship programs, we must make it easier for qualified people of diverse backgrounds to pursue legal careers.

Then, once people enter the profession, we must work on retention. An ABA report from the Commission on Women in the Profession, titled “Visible Invisibility: Women of Color in Law Firms,” revealed startling realities about the experiences of women of color, including anecdotal evidence that nearly half of women of color have been subjected to demeaning comments or other types of harassment while working at a private law firm (compared with only 2 percent of white men reporting the same experiences). A substantial number also report being passed over for desirable work assignments, being excluded from networking opportunities, and having received at least one unfair performance evaluation. These and other disparities allow us to better understand why women of color have a nearly 100 percent attrition rate from law firms at the end of eight years.

Another challenge facing law firms—especially those that have been addressing diversity issues for a while now—is to evolve from the traditional idea of diversity to understand and embrace inclusion. Diversity basically speaks to the numbers: proactively doing things to increase the numbers of diverse persons in the firm. While that is absolutely essential, it’s not enough. We now must focus on building inclusive work environments that demonstrate that we value diverse perspectives and understand how they benefit the organization overall.

VAULT:  Has the current state of the economy further exacerbated these difficulties? 

Yes. The ABA’s “The Next Steps” report found that the “recession is drying up monies for diversity initiatives and creating downsizing and cutbacks that may disproportionately and negatively affect lawyer diversity—thereby undoing the gains of past decades.”

The American Lawyer’s annual report on diversity confirmed the anecdotes that have been voiced throughout the legal community. Its 2010 Diversity Scorecard reported that for the first time in 10 years the proportion of lawyers of color has decreased, based on a survey of the country’s 200 largest firms. While big firms lost 6 percent of their attorneys between 2008 and 2009, they lost 9 percent of their minority lawyers. Some experts fear that this could be the start of a new downward trend, given a climate of slower law firm hiring, fewer African-American and  Mexican-American law students, and law firm layoffs.

VAULT:  Where are you seeing the most improvements?

Both the quantity and quality of pipeline diversity programs have improved in recent years. The ABA, in collaboration with the Law School Admission Council, has an online Pipeline Diversity Directory. In the past year, the number of entries in the directory has almost doubled and it now includes over 400 programs across the country that work to improve diversity in the educational pipeline to our profession, such as the judicial clerkship program.

Collaboration is another area of noted improvement. More firms, bar associations, law schools, corporate law departments and other groups are pooling their resources and building partnerships to address diversity and inclusion. 

VAULT:  Tell us about some of the ABA’s diversity initiatives and goals.

Nearly all entities throughout the ABA work to foster greater diversity in the legal profession. The ABA’s Center for Racial and Ethnic Diversity is a centralized resource for many of these activities. Within the Diversity Center, there are three groups that each addresses a distinct area:  

In addition, the Commission on Women in the Profession works to secure the full and equal participation of women in the ABA, the legal profession and the justice system. The Commission on Mental and Physical Disability Law addresses disability-related public policy, disability law, and the professional needs of lawyers and law students with disabilities. The Commission on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity seeks to secure for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender persons full and equal access to and participation in the ABA, the legal profession and the justice system.

This year I appointed a Presidential Commission on Diversity, which produced the “Next Steps” monograph. The report gives recommendations for next steps to increase diversity in the different sectors of the legal profession, recognizing the different challenges within each one: law firms and corporations, the judiciary and government, law schools and the academy, and bar associations. The commission is working with the ABA’s existing efforts to provide practical resources and guidance for women lawyers, lawyers of color, disabled lawyers, and lawyers of differing sexual orientations and gender identities to help pierce the glass ceiling. Central to the commission’s efforts is a series of distance-learning CLE programs to help diverse lawyers advance their legal careers. The programs are available on the ABA website as podcasts.

VAULT:  What do you think about the reporting of diversity metrics and rankings, such as the Vault/MCCA Diversity Survey and Vault’s Diversity Rankings, as a means of encouraging law firms to step up their commitment to hiring, retaining and promoting diverse attorneys?

It can be an effective tool if it is used properly and in conjunction with other tools and incentives, and if it is transparently done. If reporting on diversity metrics or rankings is used only to prod and push law firms to engage in diversity  efforts, those efforts will not be sustainable. But we must know the statistics in order to know where we are and where to devote resources in order to move forward. If we can help more firms understand the value diversity brings to every aspect of their operations, metrics and rankings will become a welcome opportunity to showcase how well they are doing with hiring, retention and promotion of diverse attorneys.

VAULT:  How do diversity-focused events like this career fair help advance diversity objectives?

So much of hiring involves networking and word-of-mouth referrals—hardly just help wanted ads. In such a difficult job market, it is great to bring excellent candidates together with organizations that want to hire from diverse candidate pools. It’s important for employees and employers to get out there, network and explore career options—face to face whenever possible. Events such as these are especially useful when employers are hiring out of a regular recruiting schedule. But even if such leads don’t lead directly to job placements, they form the basis of career exploration and ideas that can, and do, produce results.

VAULT:  What will success look like? 

A diverse profession that reflects our community. A diverse legal profession is more just, productive and intelligent, because diversity often leads to better questions, analyses, processes and solutions. We are committed to see a Supreme Court that reflects our population and a profession in which each lawyer, no matter what their gender, racial or ethnic background, sexual orientation or disability, has the opportunity to achieve all they are capable of.

The only way we will see success is if our profession is a true reflection of our communities—even if it’s one person in one position at a time.

© 2010 Vault.com Inc.

About the Author:

Senior Law Editor, Vault.com

Vera Djordjevich is senior law editor at Vault.com, where one of her areas of focus is diversity in the legal profession. She oversees the research and publication of information about law firm diversity initiatives and metrics for the Vault/MCCA Law Firm Diversity Database. She also edits Vault.com’s content related to law practice in the UK and co-authors Vault’s law blog, which provides career news, advice and intelligence to the legal community.   publicity@vault.com 212-366-4212 www.vault.com