Review Provides Analysis And Models To Help The Legal Profession Assess Progress Towards Diversity

CHICAGO, April 8, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- How much progress has the legal profession made to be more inclusive and diverse? How can we measure that change? What models can guide the profession into the future? What do the numbers tell us about what more needs to be done?  What can we assume from new data? Has the economic recession made an impact on diversity? 

With updated data and expanded commentary, IILP Review 2014: The State of Diversity and Inclusion in the Profession provides answers and context. The Review includes a summary of the latest demographic information available as to the status of minorities and diverse populations in the legal profession, accompanied by 32 scholarly in-depth articles that analyze trends, models and initiatives. The commentary helps gauge progress by focusing on key data points highlighting challenges that cut across the profession in its quest for greater diversity. Articles explore diversity in a variety of professional settings, with writers who identify ways the profession is striving to mentor a new generation of lawyers to foster greater diversity. Data from the U.K. is reviewed to demonstrate how challenges to diverse groups extend beyond the shores of the U.S.

This is the IILP's third review and contains data updated as of July 2014.  

As in earlier analysis, the legal profession continues to lag behind others in providing meaningful opportunities for inclusion. Aggregate minority representation among lawyers stood at 14.4% in 2013, compared to 27.8% among accountants and auditors; 38.2% among software developers; 24.3% among architects and engineers; 31.8% among physicians and surgeons; and, 25.8% within the professional labor force as a whole.

Progress for different groups varies with African American representation among lawyers dropping from 4.7% in 2009 to 4.2% in 2013, suggesting that they may be exiting from the profession, since both the number of lawyers and law students have remained relatively stable. Both Asian Americans and Hispanics represent 5.1% of the profession; female lawyers dipped to a low of 31.1% in 2012, and then rebounded to 33.1% in 2013. The participation of women remains higher than in several other professions, but women continue to face barriers in reaching leadership roles in the legal profession.

The data comes from a number of sources including updates from the 2010 census, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the National Association for Law Placement and numerous bar associations.

Review Editor-in-Chief Elizabeth Chambliss prepared the demographic summary. She is professor of law and director of the Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough Center on Professionalism at the University of South Carolina. She is also the author of the ABA study Miles to Go: Progress of Minorities in the Profession.  Chambliss continues to advocate for further data collection and reporting throughout the profession in an effort to better assess progress toward greater integration and inclusion, especially for those groups facing special challenges including LGBT and disabled lawyers.

The IILP is hosting seminars around the country featuring discussion of the data and including presentations by several of the authors with a focus on local solutions and programs that meet the needs of the community. The first is set for April 14 in New York City. Future programs will be in Los Angeles; Palo Alto; Washington, D.C; Chicago; Charlotte; Dallas; San Francisco, Houston and one to be set in the Pacific Northwest. Program information will be posted at the IILP website.

About the Institute for Inclusion in the Legal Profession

For more information on the IILP and its programs and projects, visit the IILP website; or follow on Twitter at @theiilp, LinkedIn and Facebook. Marc S. Firestone is president and chair of IILP and senior vice president and general counsel at Philip Morris International Inc.

Editors' note: A copy of the Review can be found here. To obtain a hard copy, contact Deborah Weixl. Information about the seminars can be found online. Reporters are welcome to attend and cover these sessions for free. To obtain press credentials, contact Deborah Weixl.

Contact: Deborah Weixl
E-Mail: [email protected]
Phone: 312-628-5885
Online: http://theiilp.com

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SOURCE Institute for Inclusion in the Legal Profession