Lack of Diversity at Law Firms

If one ethnic group is underrepresented in Silicon Valley, that must mean that other groups are overrepresented. One does not quite understand why all groups need to be represented proportionally, but such is the currently politically correct dogma. The same applies to college admissions. If one group is systematically underrepresented that must mean that other groups are overrepresented. Is this de facto evidence of discrimination or even cheating?

If meritocratic means have produced this disparity, they must be adjusted in the name of diversity. But, since the number of places is finite, if students with inferior academic performance are granted preferences, then students with superior scores will suffer discrimination.

We have, of late, been watching high tech firms fall all over themselves to be more diverse, so it is good to examine the prevalence of diversity in today’s law firms. In 2014 Francis Menton, a retired partner in Willkie, Farr and Gallagher, a major New York law firm posted about the issue. Menton blogs at The Manhattan Contrarian (via Maggie’s Farm).

Menton was intrigued by an issue of The American Lawyer—from 2014—that stated that the legal profession, and especially New York law firms were suffering from a lack of diversity. African-Americans were underrepresented in their ranks.

Menton writes:

The leading trade magazine for the big law firm industry is called The American Lawyer. This month, they devote most of a full issue to what they call "The Diversity Crisis." As they define the term, the "diversity crisis" consists of the under-representation of African Americans in the ranks of big firm lawyers, the even greater under-representation of African Americans in the ranks of big firm partners, and the still greater under-representation of African Americans in the ranks of the top partners identified by The American Lawyer itself as handling the largest and most important transactions and litigations. The cover illustration has photographs of some 131 top attorneys identified as "[leading] big law's top deals and suits"; just three are black.

To show how serious it was about the issue, the magazine filled its pages with articles about diversity. For the most part, Menton notes, they constituted an effort to make everyone feel guilty.

There are no fewer than four feature articles on the subject, covering some 22 pages, plus an intro called "About Our Cover" and an editorial called "Time To Call It Racism?" Guilt pervades. Law firms are said to be "lagg[ing]" in matters of diversity, and their record is called "bleak." Charts show the percentage of African Americans at big law firms dropping from 3.2% in 2004 to 3.0% in 2013, while the percentage among partners increased over the same period, but only from 1.7% to 1.9%. Numerous prominent firms are listed as having not one single black partner. Is this a major problem?

But, Menton continues, if one group is underrepresented, another is overrepresented:

 while African Americans may well be under-represented at the top ranks of the American legal profession, there is one small ethnic group that is hugely, hugely over-represented. That over-represented group, of course, is Jews. The over-representation of Jews is so large that, inherently, all other ethnic groups must be under-represented, which in fact they are. Some groups are more under-represented than others. It is not at all clear to me that African Americans are the most under-represented among the remaining groups, nor does The American Lawyer even address that subject.

… in 2012 there were 6,671,680 Jews in the United States, constituting 2.1% of the population. What is the percentage of Jews among the partners of the top law firms in the country? In an hour of internet searching, I can't find anyone who has collected current data, but I am here in the middle of this industry. Among partners of the top law firms in New York, I estimate that at least 25% are Jews.

Once upon a time Jews were suffered discrimination at major New York law firms. What did they do about it? They went out and formed their own law firms and competed in the marketplace. This bizarre notion does not seem to have crossed the minds of today’s proponents of diversity.

Menton concludes:

… the most pervasive, blatant and overt possible discrimination could not keep them out. Given the Jewish experience, and the very extensive efforts of all large law firms today to recruit and promote blacks, isn't it a little hard to blame black under-representation on some kind of hidden discrimination?

One might also say that high tech's extraordinary efforts to recruit for diversity might not be a sign of bigotry. Link here.