California Bar Increases Diversity, Doesn’t Reflect Demographics

Despite some strides in diversity, the makeup of California’s attorneys still largely doesn’t reflect the demographics of the state, according to a new State Bar of California report.

About one in three newly admitted attorneys in the state are women of color, according to the State Bar Diversity Report Card published on Monday. However, White people still make up two-thirds of California’s attorney population, though they comprise just 38% of all adults in the state.

The California State Bar in 2023 started to reward firms that implement certain initiatives—like conducting exit interviews, requiring annual implicit bias trainings, and sharing a ...