ABA Pushes Big Law on Diversity With Recruiting Guidance

The American Bar Association’s push to boost diversity by having law firms look beyond grade point average and class rank is a challenge for laggards to act.

“Law firms are actually aware” of the need to go beyond GPA and class rank, said Nikia Gray, executive director of the National Association for Law Placement. “Their recruiting departments are probably pretty well educated on this already. It’s more of a matter of convincing partners.”

The ABA said in its Aug. 7 report that “by urging law firms to adopt a holistic evaluation approach that looks beyond GPA and class rank, the ABA can contribute to the development of a more diverse and innovative workforce in the legal field.”

The report comes nearly six weeks after the US Supreme Court effectively barred universities from using race as a factor in admissions. Republican attorneys general followed the decision by telling Fortune 100 CEOs in a July 13 letter that they should reassess diversity goals. Arkansas GOP Sen. Tom Cotton sent law firms a similar letter July 17.

The ABA guidance, while encouraging firms to act, also gives them a defense against the criticism that they are focusing too much on diversity, equity and inclusion, advocates of the resolution said.

Law firms have struggled to diversify their ranks. While women of color made up almost 17% of associates last year, they comprised less than 5% of partners, NALP’s 2022 diversity report, a survey of roughly 150 firms, showed.

2024 Impact

The ABA’s recommendation is unlikely to have an impact in 2023, with most firms at the end of recruiting cycles, though some not using the approach could adopt it next year, advocates said.

“This could be some really great support if you are a firm that is looking for something else to push you to becoming more thoughtful and more holistic,” said Foley & Lardner DEI director Alexis Robertson. Her firm has long prioritized holistic qualifications in associate recruiting, she said.

The ABA recommendation is “a great proposal,” said Robin Nunn, a partner at Linklaters, adding that her firm also uses the approach. “We choose better lawyers because we’re not just looking at a number, because I do think that the number is not necessarily predictive as it was once claimed for who will be a successful law firm associate.”

Linklater’s global business means the UK-founded firm needs lawyers who can speak several languages and are well-traveled, which isn’t always connected to a high GPA or class ranking, Nunn said.

Greenberg Traurig said the firm nearly two decades ago branded a “3-D” recruitment and training strategy that employs the ABA’s recommended recruiting strategy.

“We are proud to be trailblazers in this arena, which ultimately benefits our clients with teams that would be difficult to replicate anywhere else,” Nikki Lewis Simon, a shareholder and the firm’s chief DEI officer said in a statement.

Focusing on holistic qualifications will bring a new focus to implicit biases that the ABA should address, said Tsedale Melaku, a sociologist who tracks law firm diversity in New York.

“We’re not really talking about the historic, systematic, racist underlying practices that create this idea that these students are not qualified,” Melaku said.

Other diversity professionals said the ABA should next focus on retention and promotion, which is also an issue tied to law firm struggles with diversity.