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The most recent research from the National Association for Law Placement
(NALP) reveals that attorneys of color in the nation's major law firms account
for 3.07% of the partners in these firms, and that female attorneys account for
14.55% of the partners in these firms. Although these numbers indicate that
women attorneys and attorneys of color are under-represented among partnership
ranks at these firms, the figures also document a continuing, albeit small,
increase from data compiled in 1997.
These are among the findings of NALP's recent analyses of the 1998-1999
National Directory of Legal Employers, the annual compendium of legal
employer data published by NALP. The 1998 Directory consisted primarily
of large firm listings and included attorney demographic information for almost
91,000 partners, associates, staff attorneys and senior attorneys in 630 firms
nationwide.
The current data reveals that, nationally, women attorneys and attorneys of
color who hold positions as associates or staff/senior associates closely
reflected their respective representation among recent law school graduates.
About two in five associates and staff/senior attorneys (40.90%) were female
attorneys, while 11.81% were attorneys of color. Women attorneys and attorneys
of color were best represented among summer associates; 18.47% of summer
associates were attorneys of color, while women accounted for 44.41% of summer
associates.
A parallel analysis of the 26 cities with the most individual law offices
listed in the Directory revealed considerable variations of these
measures. Among the largest of these cities, San Francisco was the most
consistently high in representation of both women attorneys and attorneys of
color across all levels. Attorneys of color accounted for 4.60% and women for
18.29% of partners reported in San Francisco. Among smaller cities, Austin,
Texas and Palo Alto, California also reported a higher than average
representation of both female partners and partners of color. Miami had the
highest percentage of partners of color (18.21%) of all cities, and Denver had
the highest percentage of female partners (19.80%).
Offices in Menlo Park, Palo Alto, and San Francisco ranked highest on
representation of attorneys of color among associates, where representation was
on in five or greater. Representation of women among associates in San Francisco
and Miami was also high, about 47%, but representation of women among associates
in Menlo Park and Palo Alto was about average. Austin and Baltimore also showed
high percentages of female associates -- 47.47% and 49.48% respectively.
Miami's higher representation of attorneys of color was also reflected in
figures for summer associates -- summer associates of color accounted for 41.27%
of those reported. Miami was followed by San Francisco and Palo Alto in terms of
summer associates of color. With the exception of San Francisco, cities with the
highest representation of female summer associates tended to be smaller cities.
Baltimore, Hartford, Tampa, Portland, Boston, Philadelphia, and Seattle also
reported somewhat higher than average proportions of women among the ranksof
summer associates.
A similar analysis of eleven states with substantial Directory
representation outside of the specific cities also yielded interesting findings.
Generally representation of women attorneys and attorneys of color among
partners and associates was below average except in Texas, where partners of
color fared somewhat better, and New York, where female associates had a
stronger showing. Representatio of these groups was only somewhat better in
summer programs, as evidenced by states such as Florida, Indiana, Ohio,
Michigan, and New Jersey.
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