Academic

Any Reports on Summer Law Firm Experiences?

By Angela Onwuachi-Willig

Last year, with the help of Professor Michele Landis Dauber, Stanford Law School students made their views about the importance of diversity at law firms known to their prospective employers.  The students created a firestorm last fall with their project ?Building a Better Legal Profession,? which compiles data on the percentages of associates and partners at major law firms who are Asian American, Latina/o, Black, female, and gay, lesbian, or transgendered and then grades those law firms based on their diversity at www.betterlegalprofession.org. 

The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and American Bar Association Journal all ran articles on the project.  They even reported examples of a few firms that did or did not make the grade. 

The student creators of the website wanted their peers at elite law schools to use the website data as they made their decisions about which law firms they would interview with or join as associates. Based on anecdotal evidence, the project had its intended effect on a significant number of students.  A number of the nation?s most elite students decided not to interview at firms with failing grades.  Additionally, many law firms responded to these students? concerns, either by advertising their high grades as result of the project or working to improve their numbers as a means of improving their reputations on diversity.

The question is:  What happened during and after the summer?  For students readers of this blog, how have diversity issues or how are diversity issues affecting your experiences with or futures with law firms?

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Full post as published by BlackProf on September 10, 2008 (boomark / email).