The 2020 Diversity Scorecard: Rankings and Demographic Leaders

There's a new firm at the top of this year's Diversity Scorecard.

May 26, 2020 at 05:30 AM

2 minute read

The original version of this story was published on The American Lawyer

Berry Appleman & Leiden, a new firm on the list this year, takes the top spot thanks to an attorney pool that is nearly half minority. That bumps last year's first-place finisher, Fragomen, down to second. In all, 71 firms had at least 20% minority attorneys, and seven had at least 20% minority partners.

The Diversity Scorecard records the average number of full-time-equivalent minority attorneys—Asian-American, African-American, Latino or Hispanic, Native American and self-described multiracial attorneys—at Am Law 200 and National Law Journal 250 law firms in the calendar year 2019.

Partner statistics include both equity and nonequity partners. Nonpartner figures include associates as well as special counsel, of counsel and other staff attorneys. The survey does not include contract attorneys. Lawyers of Middle Eastern heritage are counted as nonminority attorneys for the purposes of this survey.

Each firm's diversity score is calculated by adding the minority percentage of all U.S. attorneys at the firms surveyed to the minority percentage of all U.S. partners at those firms.

A total of 38 Am Law 200 and NLJ 250 firms declined to provide us with numbers. The Am Law 200 firms that did not submit their diversity numbers were: Arnall Golden Gregory, Boies Schiller Flexner, Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney, Cole Schotz, Cole, Scott & Kissane, Pryor Cashman, Spencer Fane and Williams Mullen.