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BarJournal WOMEN IN LAW

JULY/AUGUST 2015
feaTure But Still, Like Air, I’ll Rise

Advice for Women Attorneys of Color

Determined to Have Success on Their

Own Terms Despite Systemic Challenges

BY VALISSA TuRNER HOWARD, MARQuETTES D. ROBINSON & DARLENE E. WHITE

or the past 20 years, there have been attorneys, 3% of non-equity partners, and. advancement. When discussing resilience in
repeated calls to increase diversity in only 2% of all equity partners in the Am the face of unrelenting systemic obstacles, Dr.
the legal profession from attorneys in Law 200. 7 Maya Angelou famously wrote “But still, like
private practice, in-house counsel, and ... Black women lawyers find ourselves in the air, I’ll rise.” Here are a few suggestions to guide
F even the ABA: most precarious position in the legal profession. your rise:
• In 1999, the chief legal officers of 500 On nearly every quantifiable measure of success • Perfect Your Craft
major corporations signed “Diversity in the in private practice — salary, representation Systemic barriers relating to gender and
Workplace – A Statement of Principle” in the associate and partnership ranks, and race are often buried under scrutiny of a
• In 2004, Sara Lee General Counsel Roderick decision-making authority — Black women are lawyer’s craft. For generations, black people
Palmore created “A Call to Action: Diversity ranked last or close to it. (See 2017 IILP Annual have bemoaned that old saying: “be twice
in the Legal Profession” Review) Black women lawyers have also been as good to get half the credit.” Research
• In 2016, the American Bar Association leaving the practice of law at disheartening shows that to be more truth than myth.
adopted Resolution (ABA 113) rates for decades. 8 In studies of law firm partners’ critiques
Still, the numbers of attorneys of color and In response to the 2019 open letter from of identical writing samples, partners
women reaching the top of the profession have General Counsel, Don Prophete, a Black graded the sample purportedly written by
not improved. In January 2019, Paul Weiss partner at Constangy, Brooks, Smith & a white associate more favorably than the
announced an all-white partnership class that Prophete, diagnosed the problem as too identical sample purportedly written by a
included one woman attorney. Subsequently, many pronouncements, resolutions, and black associate finding more substantive
170 General Counsel signed an open letter to commitments, with very little action. 9 and technical errors in the black associate’s
“Law Firm Partners” again demanding diversity. To move the needle towards systemic purported work product. Unfortunately,
The Paul Weiss class demonstrates the broader change, clear, intentional, and deliberate female partners and black partners were
trend. The legal profession’s tendency towards commitment and guidance in the form of no more even-handed in their critiques.
regression, even as focus on diversity increases, is consistent, zealous, and supportive action They graded their fellow female and black
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hard to deny or reconcile. A National Association has to come from those at the top. Top level lawyers, respectively, more harshly as well.
of Women Lawyers (NAWL) 2017 Annual management must foster an atmosphere Unconscious and confirmation bias were
Survey Report revealed that “[f]or over a decade that encourages frank conversations on all to blame. There is no room for the female
now, approximately 50% of this country’s law aspects of diversity, including race and gender. attorney of color to be average. Therefore,
students have been women and law firms have Top level management must also invest in put concerted effort toward cultivating
recruited male and female entry-level associates improving both the recruitment and retention your craft. Develop a reputation for being
in approximately equal numbers (50% men and processes (including addressing the ways that smart, strategic, thorough and reliable.
50% women).” Yet, women lose ground as they unconscious bias impacts hiring, employee Your excellence will expose any pre-textual
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progress through the profession, despite the fact evaluation, opportunity distribution, and barriers to advancement.
that women make up 46% of associates, 42% of promotions), without primarily relying upon • Find Mentors and Cultivate Sponsors
non-partner track attorneys, 30% of non-equity women or persons of color to lead systemic “What you know” works hand-in-hand with
partners, and 20% of equity partners. 6 reforms or diversity efforts. 10 “who you know.” Mentoring relationships, both
Women of color face the double burden of As is clear from the last 20 years, the diversity horizontal and vertical, are key to building a
gender and racial bias, and their numbers in disconnect — increasing calls for diversity, yet support network for success. Work to establish
top ranking positions within the profession stagnant or decreasing numbers of diverse genuine, not opportunistic, connections.
pale in comparison to their colleagues as a attorneys — has to be addressed from multiple Don’t make the mistake of only seeking out
result. According to the same NAWL Survey angles. But until that needle starts to move, relationships with people who look like you.
Report, women of color represent 10% of women of color must create success, on their White men are uniquely situated to help
law firm associates, 7% of non-partner track own terms, despite the systemic barriers to advance women and minorities without fear
14 | Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Journal clemetrobar.org