There are more women, people of color and LGBTQ associates at law firms than ever before, according to a new report by The National Association for Law Placement.
Law firm associate of color increased from 36.48% to 41.34%, the largest annual gain since NALP began tracking 29 years ago. Women outpaced men as summer associates for the fourth year in a row (55.06% of summer associates), and LGBTQ summer associates increased their ranks by 0.7 points to 8.41%. The data is in the 2021 Report on Diversity in U.S. Law Firms.
“Without doubt, this summer associate class was the most diverse ever measured in every way, and it holds the promise of a law firm world that is truly more diverse, equitable, and inclusive,” NALP Executive Director James Leipold said. “The challenge for the industry is to retain, train, develop, and promote this talented and diverse pool of new lawyers so that 5 years from now the associate ranks as a whole reflect similar diversity and representation, and 10 or 15 years from now we can celebrate a partnership class that is similarly diverse.”
While the numbers bode well for the future, there are still obstacles to be overcome. For example, Black lawyers are underrepresented compared to Asian and Hispanic lawyers. And while female summer associates saw lots of growth, female law partners only make up 25.92% of all partners. Black and Hispanic women are especially underrepresented, making up less than 1% of all U.S. law partners. Finally, equity partners in multi-tier law firms are overwhelmingly white men.
“The 2021 law firm diversity numbers are a cause for celebration, but also a reminder of the hard work that remains to be done,” said Leipold, who will step down as executive director in October. He has led the organization for the past 18 years.
