A major diversity survey was conducted in the Denver legal community in May 2007 in order to assess attitudes of attorneys regarding diversity and inclusiveness. The survey was sent to 5000 attorneys in the greater Denver metropolitan area and nearly 1000 responded. The survey results demonstrate that diverse attorneys experience the practice of law in substantially different ways from non-diverse attorneys. Diverse attorneys also are still experiencing discrimination in the legal workplace, which is generally not acknowledged by non-diverse attorneys or legal organizations.

•  Diversity Survey
  • Read the full report: CSI Diversity Report August 2007
  • Watch the streaming video of the CLE workshop discussing the results:  Video 

Highlights from the Survey:

Recruiting and Retention:

• Racially and ethnically diverse and GLBT attorneys are more likely to:
  • DISAGREE that sufficient efforts are made to hire diverse attorneys
  • AGREE that hiring practices are biased against diverse applicants
  • Be dissatisfied overall
  • Be dissatisfied with access to clients, advancement opportunities, complexity of work, and mentoring opportunities
  • Be seeking other employment (they are twice as likely as heterosexual, white males to be currently seeking)
  • Report discrimination.

Strong Perception of Unfairness:

• 30 percent of all attorneys, including 25 percent of white males, believe racially and ethnically diverse attorneys do not receive advantages such as
  • Promotions
  • Networking opportunities
  • Training
  • Mentoring
  • Client contact 
  • Fee-generating assignments.
• Racial and ethnic minorities were seven times more likely than white, heterosexual men to have witnessed or experienced discrimination in their workplace.

The Diversity Survey was conducted by Jewlya Lynn, PhD. and Denise McHugh, JD - Center for Systems Integration.