2005 Diversity Benchmarking Report

New York City offices of signatory firms are more diverse than the legal profession as a whole. Overall, 15.2 percent of the nearly 17,000 attorneys in signatory firms are racial/ethnic minorities compared to 10.8 percent in the profession as a whole (ABA, Statistics about Minorities in the Profession from the Census, 2000). Similarly, the percentage of women in signatory firms is somewhat higher with 35 percent of attorneys in New York area law offices in contrast to 29 percent of attorneys in the profession as a whole. The data that signatory firms provided on openly gay attorneys and attorneys with disabilities is inadequate for national comparisons. There is considerable diversity across race and gender in associate ranks, while the face of the partnership at signatory law firms remains predominantly white and male. Over one in five associates are racial-ethnic minorities and two in five are women. In contrast, the vast majority of special counsels and partners are both white and male. Only 4.7 percent of New York area law partners are considered racial/ethnic minorities. Women fare somewhat better than minorities comprising 15.6 percent of the partnership at signatory firms.