What Law Firms Can Do to Override Implicit Bias & Become More Inclusive

Time/Date: Wednesday, September 25 2019 at 5:30 pm

Location: Milbank LLP 55 Hudson Yards, New York, NY 10001

The continued gender and racial disparities in the legal profession have been attributed primarily to implicit bias. Last year's program featured a talk about implicit bias and how it can influence behavior. This program will focus on what law firms and corporate legal departments can do to counteract the effects of implicit bias. The disparities are still surprisingly large. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' data for 2018, approximately 38% of all lawyers in the United States are female. Approximately 15% of all lawyers identify as non-white (Asian, African-American, Hispanic, Native American or mixed race). Among the law firms covered by National Association for Law Placement's latest survey (for 2018), 45.91% of law firm associates but only 23.36% of law firm partners are women. 24.22% of associates but only 9.13% of partners are minorities. Only 1.83% of partners are black/African American. There are still major law firms with zero black partners.  

The program a will feature a roundtable discussion among the members of a law firm's executive committee with Hon. Shira A. Scheindlin, who requires no introduction, David Venderbush, Co-Chair of the Alston & Bird LLP Diversity Committee, and Andrew Botwin, Esq., Strategy People Culture, LLC, an executive coach, workplace investigator and trainer.

Program Materials