Legal News

Is Diversity At Firms Hurt By A Lack Of Disclosure?

By Nathan Koppel

We've reported, highlighted, rued (pick your verb) the fact that women are a distinct minority in many law-firm partnerships, even though women make up roughly 50% of law firm grads. (Here's one recent post on the topic.)

The issue has touched off a spat about whether law firms divulge enough information about who, exactly, makes full equity partner at their firms.

Earlier this year, the National Association of Law Placement had asked firms to provide demographic details about both their equity and non-equity partners. This would have provided a clear picture about the level of diversity in firm's upper ranks.

But NALP later dropped this request, as we noted here, after some firms complained that the equity/nonequity breakdown at their firms involves propriety financial information.

Yesterday, in this letter,the National Association of Women Judges took NALP to task for backing off its efforts to learn the demographics of equity partners.

"The urgent need for accurate and consistent equity and non-equity partnership data has become a rallying point for [those] who are working to advance women and diversity in the profession," said the letter, drafted by members of the Association of Women Judges, along with a pages-long list of prominent lawyers and law professors.

We put a call into James Leipold, the head of NALP, but haven't yet heard back.

Something tells us we haven't heard the end of this debate.

Full post as published by Law Blog - WSJ.com on April 07, 2010 (boomark / email).