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Diversity Efforts Realize Modest Results in Legal Profession

Despite all the talk of boosting diversity in the legal profession, the percentage of minorities inched up from 9.7% in 2000 to 11.6% in 2009, according to a report by the Institute for Inclusion in the Legal Profession. Among the report's findings:

• Women comprised 32.4% of the legal profession, but only 19.4% of firm partners, 26.8% of federal appellate judges and 20.6% of law school deans.

• Blacks were the largest single minority group in the legal profession, at 4.7%, but their entry into the profession has slowed in recent years. Asians were a close second, at 4.1%.

• The percentage of women and minorities graduating from law school has slowed. Blacks accounted for 7.5% of the 2001 graduating class, compared to 6.9% in 2009. The percentage of Hispanic law graduates ticked up slightly during that period, from 5.8% to 6.2%.

• Comprehensive national data on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered lawyers was lacking.

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INSIGHT Into Diversity