All Too Human: Why White Males Are Almost Twice as Likely to Make Partner

Given how the "Free Market" system (and politics) of how most law firms operate, the findings of the 2021 ABA Model Diversity Survey are no surprise.

Here are the key ones which pertain to all sizes of law firms in all geographic locations:

  • White lawyers were almost twice as likely to make partner than non-whites.
  • Males lawyers were twice as likely to make partner than women. Women constitute 25.1% of partnerships, up from 24.2% the year before.
  • Black attorneys constitute 2% of partners.

One factor which might play a significant role in this reality is what is known as the "Free Market System." In that, partners have the decision-making power to assign work to associates. That has profound implications for associates. Those include:

  • Ability to generate billable hours
  • Availability of learning experiences. Those are critical to professional development. Law is a hands-on line of work. One learns by doing. 
  • Access to the kinds of assignments which create visibility and contacts within the firm, on external networks, and in the media. 
  • Being on the types of accounts which are considered seminal in creating revenue/profit, maintaining a lucrative account, and developing new business. Not all client work is created equal. And not all put associates on the partner path.

Partners, like all the rest of us, are human. Amid such a stressful/deadline-driven profession they could find it "easy" to make assignments to those they feel comfortable with. That entails the ability to "size up" what those associates are all about. They may not conclude that they can "read" associates from outside their traditional professional and social networks. So, they stick with the known entities.

In subcontracting work for my communications boutique I also select those whom I conclude I "know." I don't welcome surprises in attitude or behavior. As an entrepreneur I deal with too much pressure. 

This is a hard nut to crack.

The Mansfield Rule, created by the Diversity Lab, specifies that in promotion decisions law firms will consider in the pool 30% diverse candidates. Some firms have adopted that rule.

But the human factor probably still dominates. Navigating outside one's comfort zone involves risk. With so much uncertainty professionals are not very open to taking on more of that.

Connect with Editor-in-Chief Jane Genova at janegenova374@gmail.com.

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