Women have made tremendous gains in the law over the last 50 years. More than half of today’s U.S. law students are female, as are 47% of law firm associates, according to the American Bar Association. But the centers of power, especially in BigLaw, reveal stalled progress. Equity partners at the richest firms average more than $1 million in compensation each year, as studies like the Am Law 100 and 200 show. The ABA says that only 21% of equity partners are women, as are only 19% of managing partners.

Even more discouraging, attorneys of color make up 10% of all law firm partners, with women of color numbering just 3% of equity partners, according to the 2020 Vault/Minority Corporate Counsel Association Diversity Study of 233 law firms. More jarring than the statistics was the report’s note that female lawyers of color were 50% more likely than white men to be mistaken for janitorial staff. It is no wonder that reported feelings of stress, overwork, and isolation among minority attorneys contribute to their high levels of attrition from law firms.

This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.

To view this content, please continue to their sites.

Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now

Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now

Why am I seeing this?

LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are third party online distributors of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law customers are able to access and use ALM's content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, The New York Law Journal, and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information.

For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]