Diverse Effects

by the Staff of California Lawyer

Despite the tough economy, funding for diversity efforts has not been wiped out. In fact, one organization that's thriving is the Association of Law Firm Diversity Professionals, whose members include full-time diversity managers and directors. Membership has gone up every year since the organization was founded in 2006. "I haven't seen any rolling back in terms of the diversity position at law firms," says Chantel Moore, chief diversity officer at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher's Los Angeles office. "Diversity was already an important part of firms before the recession."

"We haven't stopped doing anything," says Genhi Givings Bailey, senior manager of diversity and inclusion at DLA Piper in Los Angeles. "We continue to support the organizations we have always supported, but maybe with less money."

Last year the California Minority Counsel Program did feel the pinch of the economy. The organization saw a significant drop in its membership rolls, which include law firms, corporate legal departments, and public agencies. But the tide seems to have turned this year. "We're seeing more people renewing their memberships or joining the organization for the first time, says Marci Rubin, CMCP's executive director in San Francisco.

Diversity remains an important issue with companies like Wal-Mart and Microsoft, which in 2008 launched its Law Firm Diversity Program aimed at outside counsel. This year Microsoft adjusted the program to add a new way to measure success. According to Ted Gizewski, a senior attorney at Microsoft, participating firms can earn a financial bonus if either the diversity of their workforce - or the percentage of hours that Microsoft's matters were worked on by attorneys in targeted categories - equals or exceeds the diversity score of its own legal department (52.8 percent). The company - which considers sexual orientation and physical disabilities in addition to gender and race - now requests detailed quarterly diversity reporting from all of its law firms.

Law firms are also getting more questions about their diversity during the RFP process. It is no longer enough to report how many minority and women attorneys work for the firm. "Now we are being asked about retention and how many diverse lawyers are on the leadership committee or are managing partners," says DLA Piper's Bailey. Some surveys even look at how layoffs have affected firms' diversity.

Have minority lawyers been disproportionately affected by the economy? California Lawyer looked at the change in the numbers of minority associates reported by the state's 50 largest law firms between May of 2008 and May 2009 for its annual California 50 survey (see Associate Diversity). Nearly a third of the firms had a larger drop in their minority associates compared with associates overall. However, for 16 percent of the firms the opposite was true: There was a smaller drop in minority associates compared with associates overall. And at 12 percent of firms, minority associates increased even though the total number of associates decreased. So the results are decidedly mixed.

Law firms continue to work to retain and develop their lawyers. They are also giving credit for diversity work. At least one law firm has gone even further. Since 2008 Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton has given its associates and other nonpartner attorneys up to 50 billable hours' credit for diversity and inclusion leadership. According to Carol Ross-Burnett, the firm's Los Angeles?based manager of diversity and inclusion, last year its lawyers earned more than 1,000 hours of such credit. That's real commitment. To see all the charts click here

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Clarification from DLA Piper

We were distressed to see the 2009 Associate Diversity survey [?Diverse Effects,? May] suggesting that DLA Piper?s reductions in force last year had a disproportionate impact on minorities. Upon a closer look, we found that our 2009 data submission to the California Lawyer: 50 Biggest Law Firms in California Survey was inconsistent with our submissions in prior years, which included of counsel, senior counsel, etc. in the associate category in California. The error made it appear as if our numbers this year went down significantly, which they did not. We regret the error in our submission. Below is the accurate information:

-49 minority associates for May 2007-2008, and 40 minority associates for May 2008-2009, for a decline of 18.4 percent;

-Women dropped from 94 to 78 for a 17 percent change;

- Overall, CA associate headcount dropped 15.7 percent from 197 to 166.

We're very careful to keep diversity in mind when we increase and decrease head counts.

Genhi Givings Bailey
Senior Manager, Diversity & Inclusion
DLA Piper LLP (US)

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