Try our Advanced Search for more refined results
Law firms' ongoing initiatives to address diversity challenges have driven another year of progress, with the representation of minority attorneys continuing to improve across the board, albeit at a slower pace than in previous years. Here's our data dive into minority representation at law firms in 2023.
Attorneys of color now represent 27.6% of nonpartners at law firms, a new high-water mark for the industry. But progress has lagged higher up. Here's a more detailed look at the representation of minority attorneys at the associate and partner levels.
Data from Law360 Pulse's law firm survey reveals that while firms are continuing to diversify their attorney ranks, progress has slowed. Just 15.6% of firms top the benchmarks for the 2024 Diversity Snapshot ranking — a lower percentage than last year. Here’s the latest look at how diversity in law firms' headcounts compares with what it could be based on the potential marketplace of new hires.
Law360’s law firm survey shows that firms' efforts to diversify their equity partner ranks are lagging. But some have embraced a broader talent pool at the equity partner level. Here are the ones that stood out.
Kirkland & Ellis LLP has strengthened its corporate practice in Houston with a partner who came aboard following an in-house role at private equity firm Stonepeak.
FedEx Corp. is looking for a new legal department leader, as its current general counsel shared his plans to retire in September after more than four decades serving in various roles around the world with the package delivery giant.
American Vanguard Corp., a specialty and agricultural products company with operations in 21 countries, has replaced its chief executive officer with a group of executives that includes its top lawyer.
The owner of luxury fashion brands such as Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent and Balenciaga has promoted its U.S. general counsel, who previously was a longtime attorney for Tiffany & Co., to president of its Americas division, the French-based Kering said Monday.
Many lawyers of color say they are included in their law firm's client pitches but are not assigned to the resulting work, pointing to some firms' "window dressing" approach to diversity and inclusion, according to a report reviewed by Law360 Pulse that will be released publicly on Tuesday.
The Motion Picture Association on Monday named as its head of global litigation the former deputy director of Amazon's counterfeit crimes unit, who also spent eight years as a U.S. Assistant District Attorney in New York.
A former assistant general counsel at Morgan Lewis is the new dean of undergraduate students at Princeton University, where she previously held several administrative positions for about a decade, the New Jersey Ivy League school said Monday.
The Dow Chemical Co. asked an Ohio federal judge to recuse himself from a trade secrets suit brought by a Cleveland technology firm accusing it of misappropriating confidential information to recreate the firm's copyrighted software after the tech company showed the court a settlement offer without Dow Chemical's approval.
Law360 is pleased to announce the Rising Stars of 2024, our list of 158 attorneys under 40 whose legal accomplishments belie their age.
General counsel at companies involved in environmental litigation scored victories and suffered some setbacks this week, including the dismissal of a Baltimore city suit seeking climate damages as well as Marathon Oil's record-setting $241.5 million Clean Air Act settlement.
The executive director of the New Jersey State Commission of Investigation has died in a car crash in Mercer County, officials announced.
An attorney from HCA Healthcare credited for some of the provider's largest judgments is now the inaugural general counsel at Allia Group, a legal finance firm for healthcare insurer disputes.
The legal industry had another action-packed week as attorneys took on new roles and law firms reshaped practices following the holiday. Test your legal news savvy here with Law360 Pulse's weekly quiz.
The attorney who led Connecticut's Office of the Child Advocate for more than a decade is stepping down this fall to return to a legal nonprofit as its executive director.
Greenberg Traurig LLP has bolstered its corporate, investment management, and financial regulatory and compliance practices with a pair of new shareholders in New York who both came aboard from in-house roles at major investment firms.
Funding for legal technology companies totaled $2.422 billion in the first half of 2024, nearly matching the $2.443 billion in capital raised during the same period in 2023, a positive sign for the sector after years of declining investments.
Robert Dinerstein, chair of the American Bar Association's Commission on Disability Rights, joined Law360 Pulse for an in-depth conversation about the organization's #BeCounted campaign
President Joe Biden on Thursday nominated a senior Office of Management and Budget official and former Consumer Financial Protection Bureau attorney to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission to replace one of two current CFTC members who themselves have been nominated for other offices.
A senior lawyer at The Walt Disney Co., who is a veteran C-suite leader who has had stints at other high-profile brands such as PayPal and Nokia, is set to begin as general counsel at Roku Inc. later this month, the streaming services company said late Thursday.
Despite the strong anti-ESG movement and one oil giant's legal move to smash an activist investor, shareholders still voiced their concerns over climate change this proxy season and saw some success in corporate annual meetings.
The former chief counsel for the U.S. Army Center of Military History has joined Shook Hardy & Bacon LLP as co-chair of the firm's growing art law practice, the firm announced Thursday.
Opinion
CLE Accreditation Should Be Tied To Learning OutcomesGiven the substantial time and money lawyers put toward mandatory continuing legal education, CLE regulators and providers should be held to accreditation standards that assess learning outcomes, similar to those imposed on law schools and continuing medical education providers, says Rima Sirota at Georgetown Law.
While many lawyers still believe that a manual, document-by-document review is the best approach to privilege logging, certain artificial intelligence tools can bolster the traditional review process and make this aspect of electronic document review more efficient, more accurate and less costly, say Laura Riff and Michelle Six at Kirkland.
Robert Dubose at Alexander Dubose describes several categories of visuals attorneys can use to make written arguments easier to understand or more persuasive, and provides tips for lawyers unused to working with anything but text.
There are major differences between BigLaw and Mid-Law summer associate programs, and each approach can learn something from the other in terms of structure and scheduling, the on-the-job learning opportunities provided, and the social experiences offered, says Anna Tison at Brooks Pierce.
Series
Ask A Mentor: How Do I Take Time Off?David Kouba at Arnold & Porter discusses how attorneys can prioritize mental health leave and vacation despite work-related barriers to taking time off.
The traditional structure of law firms, with their compartmentalization into silos, is an inherent challenge to mental wellness, so partners and senior lawyers should take steps to construct and disseminate internal action plans and encourage open dialogue, says Elizabeth Ortega at ECO Strategic Communications.
The key to trial advocacy is persuasion, but current training programs focus almost entirely on technique, making it imperative that lawyers are taught to be effective storytellers and to connect with their audiences, says Chris Arledge at Ellis George.
Female attorneys in leadership roles inspire other women to pursue similar opportunities in a male-dominated field, and for those who aspire to lead, prioritizing collaboration, inclusivity and integrity is key, says Kim Yelkin at Foley & Lardner.
Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Moira Penza, now at Wilkinson Stekloff, recalls the challenges of her first case as a civil defense attorney — a multibillion-dollar multidistrict class action against Allergan — and the lessons she learned about building rapport in the courtroom and with co-counsel.
Most legal professionals lack understanding of the macroeconomic trends unique to the legal industry, like the rising cost of law school and legal services, which contributes to an unfair and inaccessible justice system, so law school courses and continuing legal education requirements in this area are essential, says Bob Glaves at the Chicago Bar Foundation.
While the American Bar Association's recent amendments to its law school accreditation standards around student well-being could have gone further, legal industry employers have much to learn from the ABA's move and the well-being movement that continues to gain traction in law schools, says David Jaffe at the American University Washington College of Law.
Series
Ask A Mentor: How Do I Build Rapport In New In-House Role?Tim Parilla at LinkSquares explains how new in-house lawyers can start developing relationships with colleagues both within and outside their legal departments in order to expand their networks, build their brands and carve their paths to leadership positions.
Piper Hoffman and Will Lowrey at Animal Outlook lay out suggestions for attorneys to maximize the value of their pro bono efforts, from crafting engagement letters to balancing workloads — and they explain how these principles can foster a more rewarding engagement for both lawyers and nonprofits.
Opinion
NY Bar Admission Criminal History Query Is Unjust, IllegalNew York should revise Question 26 on its bar admission application, because requiring students to disclose any prior interaction with the criminal justice system disproportionately affects people of color, who have a history of being overpoliced — and it violates several state laws, says Andrew Brown, president of the New York State Bar Association.
Lawyers can use LinkedIn to strengthen their thought leadership position, generate new business, explore career opportunities, and better position themselves and their firms in search results by writing a well-composed, optimized summary that demonstrates their knowledge and experience, says Guy Alvarez at Good2bSocial.