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ALM Overhauls Its Historical Diversity Scorecard Criteria & Publishes the 2022 Data, A Ranking of U.S Law Firms by the Average Number of Full-time-equivalent Minority Attorneys at Am Law 200 & NLJ 250 Firms
New York, NY- June 1, 2022 – ALM is pleased to announce the release of the 2022 Diversity Scorecard. The revamped Diversity Scorecard provides a detailed look at the percentage of ethnically and racially diverse equity partners, nonequity partners, associates, and other full-time equivalent attorneys at Am Law 200 and NLJ 250 firms. The new scorecard also measures the diversity of leadership positions within those firms.
The number of U.S. ethnically and racially diverse attorneys grew from 18.5% in 2020 to 20.2% in 2021. In 2021, 10.4% of U.S. equity partners and 23.6% of U.S. nonequity partners/associates/other attorneys were ethnically and racially diverse. Women attorneys of color account for 3.4% of equity partners and 13.1% of all other full-time equivalent lawyers in Am Law 200 & NLJ 250 firms.
“The goal of this year’s revised methodology was to both more finely detail census information as well as track inclusion through looking at the percentages of diverse lawyers in various leadership positions,” said Gina Passarella, Editor-in-Chief of The American Lawyer and ALM’s Global Legal Brands. “Methodology aside, after years of modest gains in diversity numbers, it was heartening to see some of the biggest rises in overall diversity the profession has seen in years. ALM’s goal, through data and reporting, will be to continue to highlight the progress across the industry not just on diversity, but on inclusion and belonging.”
ALM collaborated with diversity & inclusion professionals in law firms, legal departments, and leading consulting firms to help in evolving the methodology and scoring. The 2022 Diversity Scorecard marks the Scorecard’s debut of firm leadership criteria. Additionally, firms are now ranked and scored on each ethnicity classification based on the percentage of U.S.-based ethnic minority lawyers in each role.
“The enhanced methodology not only gives law firms a more meaningful view of their progress in the area of ethnic/racial diversity and inclusion, but it also highlights areas for opportunity and growth,” said Michelle Matroni, Senior Research Manager, Legal Rankings Lead, ALM Intelligence. “The percent of ethnically and racially diverse attorneys grew by 1.7 percentage points in 2021 vs. 2020, which is encouraging.”
Current Law.com Pro members and Law.com Compass subscribers can now download the Diversity Scorecard. Access to articles analyzing the results are available now on Law.com and in the June 2022 print issue of The American Lawyer.
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