Does Gibson Dunn’s Diversity Chief Partner Splash Nudge Big Law?

It’s either a game changer or a clever gimmick.

In a radical departure from the way Big Law doles out the partnership prize, Gibson Dunn & Crutcher elected an administrator (a cost center!) to partnership.

As any first year law student knows, you need a laserlike focus—not to mention mountains of billable hours—to be even considered for partner.

Yet, Zakiyyah Salim-Williams, the winner of this partnership lotto, hasn’t clocked one billable minute for over a dozen years. Gibson Dunn’s chief diversity officer since 2011, Salim-Williams said her elevation came out of the blue.

“I was on vacation in Hawaii when ...