Biglaw

The 2023 Biglaw Diversity Scorecard: More Progress Amid A War On DEI

Biglaw firms continue to push forward when it comes to diversity.

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478380Year in and year out, we watch law firm after law firm pay lip service to their commitment to diversity in the legal profession, with promises to recruit, retain, and promote more minority attorneys. If there’s ever going to be any real change in the legal industry, diversity has to be more than just a buzzword — it must be a priority at every law firm. And last year, it was. There is once again some news worth celebrating when it comes to law firm diversity, which is very exciting.

According to the American Lawyer’s 2023 Diversity Scorecard — a ranking that tracks racial and ethnic diversity across firm leadership, equity partners, and other attorneys at Am Law 200 firms and beyond — there was quite a bit of progress over the past year. This is refreshing to see after 2021’s record-breaking progress, which saw the biggest year-over-year improvement since 2001. Let’s take a look at 2022’s numbers:

For the second year in a row, minority lawyer populations grew at a rate that significantly exceeded the average annual growth rate of the past decade. Minority attorney representation grew 1.4% to 21.6% of attorneys at firms surveyed. Minority partners now represent 13% of all law firm partners, up 1.1% from 2021. Minority lawyers now represent 28.1% of nonpartners, an increase of 1.4%.

Underrepresented minority groups such as Black and Hispanic lawyers also saw some of the biggest year-over-year increases in representation in the past decade. Black attorney representation rose 0.3% to 4.2% of all attorneys, with Black partner representation up 0.2% to 2.5% of all lawyers and Black nonpartners gaining 0.3% to 5.5% of the total lawyer population surveyed. Hispanic lawyers also were up by 0.3% to 5.1% of the total with Hispanic partner representation rising slightly to 3.5% and Hispanic nonpartners up 0.4% to 6.8% total representation.

More than 1% growth may seem small, but it’s still something worth cheering for — especially during a time when anti-DEI laws are spreading across the country.

Which law firms are the best for diversity in 2023? Here’s the Top 25:

  1. Fragomen
  2. White & Case
  3. Berry Appleman
  4. Munger Tolles
  5. Atkinson Andelson
  6. Procopio Cory
  7. Hanson Bridgett
  8. Squire Patton Boggs
  9. Willkie
  10. Morrison & Foerster
  11. Fenwick & West
  12. Kasowitz
  13. Cleary Gottlieb
  14. Haynes & Boone
  15. Buchalter
  16. Perkins Coie
  17. Mayer Brown
  18. Hughes Hubbard
  19. Orrick
  20. Constangy Brooks
  21. Proskauer
  22. Wilson Sonsini
  23. Manning Gross + Massenburg
  24. Hogan Lovells
  25. Crowell & Moring

Check out the full rankings at the American Lawyer.

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Congratulations to all of the Biglaw firms that are doing their part to move the needle on diversity. For all other firms, the pressure is on to do better.

The 2023 Diversity Scorecard: Ranking Law Firms on DEI [American Lawyer]
Diversity Improving at Law Firms, but Forces Are Working Against Those Efforts [American Lawyer]

Staci ZaretskyStaci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.

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