Attracting Diversity Still a Challenge in the Hiring Process - How to Make Progress

Summary

Diversity in the workplace remains an elusive goal for many industries, including the legal profession. Despite its importance, many law firms have failed to make any substantial changes in their hiring practices to promote diversity.


Law firms have struggled to effectively promote diversity in their hiring, even in the face of mounting pressure from government and corporate entities to increase the number of minorities and women in the workplace. This is due in part to inadequate hiring practices and a lack of meaningful progress in their diversity initiatives.

Law firms have traditionally relied on traditional hiring processes, such as word-of-mouth referrals and personal relationships, rather than reaching out to minority candidates or actively seeking to diversify their workforce. Additionally, there is an inherent bias in the legal profession towards traditional credentials, such as law school and prestigious clerkships, that make it difficult for individuals from diverse backgrounds to obtain entry-level positions.

To overcome these barriers, law firms need to devise new strategies to recruit and retain qualified minority employees. These strategies should include reaching out to diverse potential candidates through targeted outreach programs, offering more flexible working arrangements, providing mentoring and training opportunities, and engaging with diversity initiatives at the local and national levels. Additionally, firms need to prioritize the need to diversify their workforce in order to create a truly inclusive workplace.

As the legal profession continues to strive for diversity, law firms need to take decisive steps to make meaningful progress. By utilizing targeted outreach and providing more flexible working arrangements, law firms can increase their ability to attract and retain minority employees. As more firms prioritize diversity in their hiring and retention practices, the legal profession can move one step closer to achieving an inclusive workplace.

QUESTIONS ANSWERED IN THIS ARTICLE

 

The Need for Increased Diversity in the Workplace

The need to increase diversity in the workplace has been with us for many years. Diversity has been shown to increase innovation, creativity, and the bottom line. Despite its numerous benefits, however, many companies have yet to realize the full potential of diversity in their organization. Nearly two-thirds of employers agree that their organizations lack diversity, and only one in five employers have implemented any formal diversity programs in the workplace.
 

Cultural and Gender Disparities in the Workplace

Cultural and gender disparities remain significant in the workplace. Although many employers now claim to value diversity, only half have a hiring policy that specifically states they value diversity in their company culture. Those who do have such policies are twice as likely to have hiring numbers that reflect a genuine commitment to diversity.
 

Barriers to Diversity in the Workforce

There are several reasons why companies struggle to achieve diversity in the workplace. Firstly, many employers are unaware of the potential benefits of hiring and promoting a diverse workforce. Secondly, some companies are hindered by unconscious bias, which can lead to hiring processes that disproportionately favor certain backgrounds or genders. Finally, a lack of diverse talent in certain industries, such as tech and finance, can limit the number of diverse candidates available for consideration.
 

The Impact of Diversity Initiatives on the Workplace

Organizations that actively recruit, hire, and promote a diverse workforce can reap the rewards of this strategy. Studies have shown that diverse teams are more productive, more innovative, and more likely to successfully meet their goals. Additionally, a diverse workplace can create a better work environment, allowing employees to broaden their perspectives, gain new insights, and build their skills.
 

Legal Ramifications of Failure to Hire a Diverse Workforce

In the United States, failure to hire a diverse workforce can lead to legal action. Companies that have been found to have a lack of diversity can face fines, sanctions, or other penalties. In addition, companies may be required to create and implement plans to ensure that their hiring and promotion practices reflect commitment to diversity. Employers must be vigilant in their efforts to ensure a diverse workplace in order to avoid any potential penalties.

After a number of years of small but steady incremental growth, minority representation among new associates is essentially in a holding pattern - and graduation rates of minority law students are in retreat.

Attorneys who identify themselves as black, Asian/Pacific Islander, American Indian or Hispanic represented approximately 8 percent of starting associates in 1993, according to the National Association for Law Placement (NALP). By mid-2001, that figure had risen to over 13 percent, NALP said.

Despite that increase, the percentage is nowhere near the 30 percent minorities are expected to represent in the total U.S. population in 2010, according to Census Bureau projections.

Two trends are particularly threatening to the growth of diversity in law firm ranks. For the first time since 1985, the number of minority law school graduates dropped in 1999 from the year prior. And, once minority grads obtain employment, their attrition rates at firms are substantially higher than white associates. No data is currently available on where these associates go, but apparently many leave private practice for other jobs both in and out of the legal field.

Virtually everyone in the equation - law firms, law schools, minority student organizations and national, state and local bar associations - have called for increasing the number of minorities in the profession. Several initiatives have been proposed on all levels, with varying degrees of success. The issue remains, however, one on which every firm confronts an individual level.

"Each year we do more as we learn more," said Sharon Bowen, a partner who chairs the diversity subcommittee of the recruiting panel at Latham & Watkins in New York. Bowen said the firm has become more proactive, participating in road shows for minority student groups, underwriting and sponsoring events put on by those groups, sponsoring the Minority Corporate Counsel Association and participating in community outreach programs to foster interest among minorities in a legal career. Domestically, Latham & Watkins has 138 minority associates among its 806 U.S. attorneys - 17.1 percent compared to the 13.7 percent national average.

David Love, a second year at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, authored an article in The Philadelphia Tribune last November decrying the shortage of minority partners in law firms. He noted, however, that some Philadelphia area firms have made strides in addressing the diversity issue, specifically citing the firm of Stradley, Ronon, Stevens & Young.

Melissa Lennon Walsh, director of associate development for the 160-attorney firm, said that its success in expanding minority representation is more a reflection of commitment than any particular programs.

"We've been able to apply normal standards and hiring criteria with a special focus overall in increasing our minority hiring," Walsh said.

The firm also supports the Philadelphia Diversity Law Group, a coalition of law firms and corporate law departments dedicated to the promotion of minority hiring. Walsh pointed with pride to the fact that of Stradley Ronon's nine new associates in 2001, five were minorities.

And the efforts come from the student side as well through the National Black Law Students Association, which had its first national job fair last year, inviting around 15 law firms. It will repeat it this spring, according to its chairman, Steven Holeman, who is completing a J.D. and Master's in Political Management joint degree at Regent University School of Law in Virginia Beach, Va. Holeman said firms need to back up their verbal commitments to diversity with action.

"I would tell them, 'Don't just talk about it - be about it,'" Love said. "I have seen some desire to diversify, but a lot of progress needs to be made in that arena."

Latham & Watkins' Bowen would no doubt agree, but she has a personal benchmark that indicates her firm, at least, is making progress.

"I can remember when I could tell you all of [the firm's minority associates] by name," Bowen said. "Thankfully I can no longer do that."

This story appeared in the March 2002 edition of The National Jurist, nationaljurist.com.