43 U.S.-Based Law Firms Recognized as Members of Bloomberg Law’s Second Annual Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Framework

ARLINGTON, VA (August 11, 2022) — Bloomberg Law today announced that it has named 43 U.S.-based law firms to its second annual Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Framework, the legal industry’s first and only standardized, fully transparent methodology to measure law firms’ performance in this critical arena. Participation in the second annual DEI Framework was up about 50% from its inaugural year.

Bloomberg Law’s DEI Framework was developed in 2021 in collaboration with Bloomberg’s Gender-Equality Index team, as well as diversity leads at corporations and U.S.-based law firms. Performance was assessed across more than 85 metrics, each associated with one of the framework’s six core pillars: demographics, leadership and talent pipeline, recruitment and retention, business innovation and strategy, marketing, and diversity and inclusion in the community. The DEI Framework report, which includes a detailed methodology and a list of the 43 member firms, is available for complimentary download at http://onb-law.com/QXba50K1gaq.

Among the report’s key findings:

• 83% of firms say they have a chief diversity officer, and nearly all (91%) have a public statement regarding their commitment to diversity and inclusion
• Women make up half (50.8%) of all law firm associates, and just under one-third (29.4%) of partners. Six percent of firm associates and 2.7% of partners are Black, 11.3% of associates and 4.2% of partners are Asian American.
• This year, 70% of firms require diversity in the pool of candidates for management and leadership positions, up from 58% last year.
• There are meaningful differences between firms who made the list of 2022 DEI Framework member firms and those who did not. Among firms who made the list, 54% said practice group leaders have clear diversity and inclusion goals included as part of their annual performance review, while only 10% of non-member firms said their practice group leaders have these goals.
• Additionally, nearly all (97.7%) member firms provide opportunities for attorneys to voluntarily disclose disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression through firm collection procedures, compared to 40% of non-member firms.

“We’re pleased to announce the results of our second Bloomberg Law DEI Framework survey and the 43 firms that comprise the list this year,” said Joe Breda, president, Bloomberg Law. “DEI continues to be a key factor for general counsel seeking to engage law firms that reflect their values, and Bloomberg Law is proud to bring our industry expertise and strength in data analytics to measure and benchmarks firms’ commitments to DEI.”