2010 Diversity Benchmarking Report

The New York City Bar adopted a Statement of Diversity Principles in 2003 and subsequently began tracking diversity benchmark data for signatory law firms as a means to measure and accelerate the change process. This fifth reporting of diversity benchmark results – which spans years of great economic growth and great economic decline – highlights longer term progress mixed with perennial challenges and recent backsliding. The results call for a renewed commitment to diversity in the legal profession, for greater attention to retaining and continuing to develop the many diverse attorneys already practicing at signatory firms, and for strengthening the integration and implementation of existing diversity efforts. Based on analysis of the benchmark data over several reporting periods for which the New York City Bar has tracked information, multiple persistent challenges emerged.