Law Students

Toward Inclusive Meritocracies: Examining the Relationship between Merit and Diversity in Large Law Firms

By Ms. JD

by Arin N. Reeves, President, The Athens Group

(Ed. Note: This article was originally published in the 'Diversity Insider: Dedicated to Creating a Diverse Profession,' a publication for the 'DRI: The Voice of the Defense Bar.')

According to The American Heritage Dictionary, a meritocracy is a ?system in which advancement is based on individual ability or achievement.? Many law firms pride themselves on operating as meritocracies embodied by this definition. Individual ability and achievement is carefully examined in future hires, and attorneys who have been deemed to be worthy of inclusion in law firms are rewarded and advanced based on their abilities as evidenced by their achievements in meeting billable hour requirements, generating revenues and contributing to a law firm?s overall profitability and reputation.

When the topics of diversity and inclusion are introduced into law firm operations, a ?yes, but? reaction is often triggered in most firms. Yes, we are for diversity and inclusion, but we don?t want to violate our meritocracy. This ?yes, but? reaction is based on a definition of merit where ability alone equals achievement. In other words, a lack of achievement has to mean a lack of ability. This definition of merit sets up diversity and inclusion as oppositional to a meritocracy and suggests that a law firm has to supplement the abilities of some groups to achieve while other groups achieve naturally.

What if law firms are environments where ability does not naturally equate to achievement? What if merit, in law firms, is not based on ability alone but requires ability to be paired with opportunity in order to result in achievement? If merit, in fact, is the sum of ability and opportunity, would unequal access to opportunity mean that law firms are, in fact, not operating as meritocracies? What if diversity and inclusion initiatives are focused on eradicating inequality in opportunity, would they not, then, be consistent with creating a true meritocracy?

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Full post as published by Ms. JD on September 17, 2009 (boomark / email).