Can Bloomberg Move the Diversity Needle?
Now in its third year, Bloomberg Law’s DEI Framework may be getting some traction among law firms. That’s BB Law’s take based on a 25% bump in submissions compared to Year 2. But like most good news on the DEI front, this sliver is modest. A key goal of the Framework is to provide in-house counsel with a list of outside counsel that are prioritizing DEI based on BB Law’s interpretation of the empirical data collected. The Framework has six components, each with a possible score from 0 to 100: firm demographics, leadership/talent pipeline, recruitment and retention, business innovation and strategy, marketing, and D&I in the community. (And to the cynics among you, yes, these data are a bit squishy to fit under the empirical umbrella.) BB Law’s silver lining arises from the increase in firms tracking origination received by diverse attorneys. In Year 1, the Framework did not track origination. In Year 2, only about one in five “non-member firms” (defined as firms that submitted data but were not among the 55 U.S. firms that made BB Law’s quota), but Year 3 saw a meaningful move in the right direction. “Last year, only about one out of five firms that didn’t make the list indicated they tracked the origination credit that diverse attorneys receive,” BB Law says. “This year, non-member firms are on par with member firms, with fully half saying they’re tracking this credit. That’s a step in the right direction for equity!” (See accompanying chart.)
Published August 10, 2023.
