US corporate lawyers support motion to give more business to diverse law firms

Sixty corporate general counsels from Fortune 1000 companies are backing an American Bar Association resolution to offer more business to women and minority lawyers.

The in-house lawyers are supporting an American Bar Association resolution to give more business to minority and female lawyers. They have also said they will push for business to be given to outside firms that have promoted minorities.

The resolution, passed in August, “urges all providers of legal services, including corporations and law firms, to expand and create opportunities at all levels of responsibility for diverse attorneys. It further urges us to assist in facilitating the creation of opportunities for diverse attorneys and direct a greater percentage of the legal services we purchase, both currently and in the future, to diverse attorneys”.

It adds: “We believe that as buyers of legal resources, we are in the best position to drive the changes necessary to dramatically improve diversity at all levels in the law firms that provide us with legal services. ”

The Association has provided data for members to assess performance on diversity.  It calls on counsels to get the firms they work with to provide data so there can be greater transparency and so that firms can be compared on diversity performance.

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• Gender equality Diversity