Vault.com and MCCA Launch Groundbreaking Database to Compare Law Firm Diversity

Vault.com and the Minority Corporate Counsel Association (MCCA) have announced the launch of the Law Firm Diversity Database, an innovative online tool that enables users to compare law firms on a number of diversity performance measures. This service was developed for corporate counsel to provide them with statistics and other crucial information on diversity at over 200 firms nationwide. The online database was created in cooperation with Accenture, Bank of America, Microsoft, PPG Industries, Sara Lee, and Wal-Mart, and is located at http://extranet.vault.com/lawdiversity.

The database was unveiled last week at the Call to Action Summit, a three-day meeting of corporate general counsel and law firm managing partners devoted to increasing diversity at the nation's top law firms. Diversity and inclusion issues in the legal sector were discussed to address the fact that law firms are facing increased pressure from corporate clients -- especially public companies and global businesses -- to have a more diverse staff.

The Law Firm Diversity Database contains both quantitative and qualitative data regarding diversity programs at firms, the leadership of these initiatives, and the firms' action plans to increase the hiring and retention of a diverse staff. For the past four years, Vault and the MCCA have published the Vault/MCCA Guide to Law Firm Diversity Programs. The information in this guide, gleaned from responses to the Vault/MCCA Diversity Survey, is translated into a database that will enable the corporate counsel community to evaluate and make meaningful comparisons among outside counsel in terms of their diversity efforts.

Until Vault and MCCA teamed up on this project, there had been no meaningful effort to gather information of this type and disseminate it to the law community, says Samer Hamadeh, COO, Vault.com. With the Law Firm Diversity Database, we have now harnessed technology to facilitate the collection and analysis of the data. Coupled with distribution on the Internet, we have created a powerful mechanism to influence firms to make diversity more of a priority.

This new online tool enables users to call up a list of law firms and do side by side comparisons using one or any number of diversity performance measures captured through the survey, says Veta Richardson, Executive Director, MCCA. This allows 'apples-to-apples' comparisons that will facilitate a better understanding of how firms measure up to each other. It will also enable users to look back on a period of years of progress or lack thereof.

MCCA and Vault credit Jim Diggs, Senior Vice President, General Counsel & Secretary, PPG Industries, Inc. for the idea of creating a standardized approach to a diversity survey. Quality legal services can and should be provided by a diverse and inclusive legal team, Mr. Diggs says. We know that building diverse and inclusive workforces enables us to achieve greater levels of success in the global and highly competitive marketplace where we do business each day. This resource summarizes what large law firms throughout the country are doing to advance diversity. Moreover, it allows the general counsel community to make meaningful comparisons among those law firms that strive for our business.

Using the Law Firm Diversity Database, company leaders can learn the percentage of minorities employed by firms in a variety of categories, ranging from full-time associate to equity partner to management roles. Demographic categories currently represented in the database include minority men, minority women, white women and GLBT attorneys. In the future, the database will include statistics for attorneys with disabilities, as well as expanded racial/ethnic breakdowns. The database also features self-reported profiles from law firms describing their diversity initiatives. These profiles include information on how firm leadership communicates the importance of diversity to staff members, and the ways leadership is held accountable for achieving results.

The Vault/MCCA database confirms that the minority presence at the nation's top firms is small but steadily growing. With this new tool, corporations, law firms and prospective employees will get a window into how firms across the country are addressing the issue of diversity. Corporations will have crucial information at their disposal for hiring outside firms, and law firms can see where they stand in comparison to peer firms, thereby encouraging their efforts toward a more diverse workplace. Graduating law students and other job seekers also will have a tool to use when they are making decisions on where to apply for positions at law firms or where to accept job offers.