The percentage of minority attorneys in big firms increased by 0.2 percent, to 13.9 percent, in 2010 according The American Lawyer’s Diversity Scorecard. The increase, while small, is noteworthy because it curbs the decreases experienced in 2009 for the first time in the decade since these numbers have been collected. The American Lawyer reports, “The fall in diversity seen in last year's Scorecard came after large law firms shed 6 percent of their lawyers in the depths of the recession, including 9 percent of their minority lawyers. This year, even though overall attorney head count continued to drop--slightly--the number of minority lawyers rose.” Diversity proponents are hopeful that the drop in diversity is a one-year phenomenon. “The loss of minority attorneys during the recession set in motion industry-wide initiatives to reemphasize diversity,” according to E. Christopher Johnson, Jr., a Thomas M. Cooley Law School professor. In addition, firms have turned to lateral hiring to boost their minority ranks. Did your firm experienced a similar increase in minority attorneys in 2010? Likewise, has your firm employed lateral hiring to increase the number of minority attorneys?
