LOS ANGELES (October 11, 2021) – In Law360 Pulse’s 2021 Glass Ceiling Report and Diversity Snapshot, the team evaluated a myriad of law firms of varying sizes to determine how each measures up to its competitors in the areas of gender parity and diversity. Liebert Cassidy Whitmore (LCW) ranked #10 compared to similarly sized firms in this year’s Glass Ceiling Report. Overall, LCW exceeded Law360 Pulse’s benchmarks by 3.3 points with a 40% score for equity partners, 62.5% score for nonequity partners and 52.5% for associates. A total of 269 firms were evaluated in the 2021 Glass Ceiling Report and only 7.4% of firms met or bested the benchmarks.
In addition, Liebert Cassidy Whitmore ranked #13 when compared to similarly sized law firms in the 2021 Diversity Snapshot. The firm also exceeded Law360 Pulse’s benchmarks in this report by 2.3 points with a 13.3% score for equity partners, a 43.8% score for nonequity partners (which notably was the highest percentage of any firm listed within the category of law firms with 100 or fewer attorneys) and a 27.9% score for associates. A total of 266 firms were evaluated in this edition of the Diversity Snapshot.
Law360 Pulse’s pipeline score measures a firm’s percentage points above or below a set of benchmarks established using data from the American Bar Association (ABA) and each firms’ independent headcount. To compare firms of relatively similar size, Law360 Pulse ranked firms within one of four headcount groups.
Last year’s Diversity Snapshot report ranked firms based on their proportion of minority attorneys and minority equity partners, and awarded points based on their rank in the two categories. In contrast, this year’s scoring goes beyond the data submitted in response to the latest survey. It shows how firms’ unique headcounts would have to break down details by race and ethnicity to align with the potential marketplace of hires, which would in turn create a pipeline score to illuminate how attorney diversity often dwindles at each successive level of the attorney hierarchy, despite a pool of available talent.
According to Law360 Pulse “the pipeline score is best viewed as an assessment of a firm’s overall headcount rather than the final word on its diversity” due to underlying score variances that depend on minority associate, equity and nonequity partner representation related to the total number of attorneys at each level. Interestingly, the 2021 calculation does not account for people of color who may hold pivotal seats as management committee members, managing partners and practice area leaders—roles from which attorneys and firm leaders have more power to enact firmwide change.
The methodology behind the Glass Ceiling Report and Diversity Snapshot align, while the former showcases law firms’ percentage of women across three attorney levels. The scores measure a firm’s percentage points above or below the benchmarks assembled with ABA data and Law360 Pulse survey submissions. Overall, these results provide law firms a roadmap to increasing the diversity of its attorneys across the board.