“You know, you are a pretty good boss, and I like working for this firm and all, but to be honest, this place is a little weak on diversity. So, I’m going to have to give you an F.”

Sounds like the setup for a skit from the Office, but in reality, this is what many of the top law firms in America have been hearing recently, thanks to a survey completed by Stanford Law students. The survey tallied the number of associates and partners at major firms that self-identified as African-American, Hispanic, Asian, female or gay. Then, the students set about handing out “report cards” ranking the firms on how well they have done on incorporating diversity into their firm.

A recent New York Times article by Adam Liptak called “In Students’ Eyes, Look-Alike Lawyers Don’t Make the Grade,” shed some light on the impact of this data on the law firm recruiting process. Surprisingly, the influence of the student survey has been far reaching. As students at elite schools like Harvard, Yale and Stanford wrap up recruiting season around the country, and have a range of law firm job offers to chose from, where a firm stands on the diversity rankings can make the difference between an acceptance and a rejection from a top recruit. This is exactly what the Stanford students had hoped for: to influence the firms into changing their recruiting and retention practices so as to improve diversity.

In New York, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton got the highest grade, an A-minus, for reporting that 48.8% of the associates are female, 8.7% are black, 8.3% are Hispanic and 4.5% are openly gay.

Michele Landis Dauber, a law professor at Stanford, served as the adviser for the project, which is called Building a Better Legal Profession. The complete set of rankings are available on the project website. The report covers major firms in New York, Washington, Boston, Chicago and Northern and Southern California. Take a peek to see how your firm stacks up.

On the website, the survey data can be displayed to rank all of the firms in a given market according to the number of female associates and partners. The firms in New York with the highest number of female partners were:

1. Morrison & Foerster (23.3%)
2. Jones Day (22.5%)
3. LeBoef, Lamb (now Dewey & LeBoef) (22.2%)
4. Davis Polk (22.1%)
5. Winston & Strawn (22.1%).

The top five firms in New York with the highest number of female associates are:

1. Carter Ledyard (64.6%)
2. Hogan & Hartson (63.3%)
3. Alston & Bird (59.6%)
4. DLA Piper (58.8%)
5. Baker & McKenzie (57.1%)

Interestingly, Wachtell Lipton, often considered New York’s top firm, ranked dead last in the gender diversity category and got an F, with 27.3% female associates.

Overall, this survey provides a large volume of useful data, but law students and lawyers should take note that the percentages are closely bunched together, meaning that a firm with 53% female associates gets an A whereas a firm with 45% female associates only ranks a D. Whether this 7% is statistically significant enough to account for the disparity in ranking is not apparent. Furthermore, while the raw data is interesting, it does not tell the whole story. More important than whether a firm has 43% or 45% women is how those women are treated at the firm, and whether they are encouraged to stay and develop their skills through mentoring, women’s networks and progressive part-time and maternity policies.

Thus, while this survey data is very helpful, and can be a great tool in helping to identify which firms need to improve their diversity efforts, it should not be taken as the final word on diversity at law firms. However, it provides a great jumping off point for more research into qualitative aspects of diversity in addition to the quantitative.

Please join inMotion at an exclusive party with a group of young lawyers and professionals who are committed to helping inMotion provide free legal and social services to New York City’s under-served and abused women.

Private cocktail reception and chocolate tasting at Jacques Torres Chocolate.

Delicious chocolate, savory hors d’oeuvres, and cocktails will be served, and Jacques Torres Chocolate will donate 5% of all in-store sales from the night to inMotion.

To purchase tickets and find out more info, click on; https://secure2.ersvp.com/register/flow/flow5/splash.htm?eventid=6144&nextMessage=splash

Tracy Gary will be hosting a book signing breakfast about helping women and girls through charitiable giving. The event is for Financial Women’s Associaition members, reservations are required. Attendee’s will recieve a free copy of Ms. Gary’s book Inspired Philanthropy along with their continental breakfast. More information can be found here.

Global warming and the pollution of the planet are creating a fundamental challenge to the achievement of sustainable development for the majority of the world’s inhabitants. In response to this challenge, politicians are developing and implementing policies to regulate greenhouse gas emissions and to foster environmentally safe business solutions. Fascinating new investment opportunities are being created as a result of these efforts. Participants will discuss the opportunities as well as risks, of investing in this rapidly evolving space.

Registration begins at 5:15 pm.
Begins promptly at 6:00 pm.
Networking and cocktails before and after the panel.

Admission is free, but there is a $25 charge if you register and do not attend, even if you cancel in advance. No-show proceeds are donated to this year’s philanthropy beneficiary, iMentor. www.imentor.org.

To RSVP: https://www.100womeninhedgefunds.org/pages/event_registration.php

These days, it’s easy to watch the news and get depressed. War, natural disasters, and human rights abuses abound every time you turn on the TV, and its easy to just tune out all of the suffering going on around you, head to an air-conditioned office and surround yourself with comfortingly well-dressed people whose biggest problem is having too much money and not enough time to spend it.

But still, there is that nagging feeling. “Maybe I could be doing more to get involved in my community, or use my skills to help people.” When you are so busy at work, it’s hard to identify the steps necessary to get involved with a cause you believe in. But doing so can help you add meaning to your life, gain valuable experience in a sector other than the one you work in, and develop a sense of much needed perspective in the world of finance.

One of the causes I have been involved with over the years is the trafficking of women and girls for sexual exploitation and forced labor. When I lived and worked in Nepal, I helped design anti-trafficking programs for women and girls at risk of sexual exploitation, and implemented rehabilitation and reintegration programs for trafficked girls who had been rescued. Though I have been back in the US for five years, I have tried to stay involved in this cause by attending events, volunteering for pro bono projects, joining fundraising committees and keeping in touch with activists.

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