At a recent conference, general counsel from four large law departments estimated that their lawyer group consists of 60, 50, 50 and 45 percent women, respectively. They all acknowledged that the most senior levels were not as balanced but that over time the percentages might well increase. After all, more than half of all law school graduates are women.
The glaring shortages show up in minority positions (See my post of Nov. 13, 2005 on South Africa.). The consensus among the panelists was that, among other measures taken to find and retain minority lawyers, they must press executive search firms to uncover more minority candidates