Over the years, a large body of research has been dedicated to the role of feedback in professional growth. Studies have shown its value in improving both individual and organizational performance. Despite the demonstrated benefits of feedback, research has shown that minority and women lawyers are significantly less likely to seek performance feedback than their white male counterparts. (See “Feedback Seeking Following Career Transitions,” by Ronda Roberts Callister, Michael W. Kramer and Daniel B. Turban.) Meanwhile, minority and women lawyers’ upward mobility continues to lag in firms nationwide, perhaps, at least in part, as a result of this.
Research on the 2015 racial/ethnic makeup of law firms released by the National Association for Law Placement showed that in the 1,000 law firms surveyed, only 7.52 percent of the partners and 22 percent of the associates were minorities. In Philadelphia, the numbers are 3.99 percent and 13.93 percent. Women of color are even more scarce at the nation’s largest firms. Damaris Hernandez recently made headlines for being the first Latina attorney to be promoted to partner at Cravath, Swaine & Moore. The disparity between white and minority attorneys is widely recognized as an ongoing issue in the profession.
