The glacial pace of progress made by Big Law in achieving diversity has pushed clients looking to fulfill lofty diversity goals elsewhere: They are hiring minority-and women-owned law firms.

Clients, especially Fortune 500 companies, are committing millions more in legal spend to diverse firms, partnering with organizations such as the National Association of Minority and Women Owned Law Firms (NAMWOLF). Clients say they find little-to-no drop in the quality of service they get from these firms because many are founded by minority and women attorneys who left prestigious law firms to start their own.