SURVEY: Minorities in the Legal ProfessionAuthor(s): Percy R. Luney Jr.Source: ABA Journal, Vol. 70, No. 4 (April 1984), pp. 58-60Published by: American Bar AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20757067 .

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SURVEY

Minorities in the

Legal Profession

By Percy R. Luney Jr.

Minority lawyers express moderate sat

isfaction with their jobs in the legal pro fession, even though they perceive that racial discrimination is still a problem in the United States, according to a pre liminary analysis of responses to a nationwide survey of minority lawyers.

The ongoing Minority Lawyer Employment Survey is being conducted by the Young Lawyers Division of the American Bar Association. Question naires were mailed to approximately 6,500 minority lawyers from July through August 1983. By the beginning of 1984 approximately 1,300 answered questionnaires were returned. The pre

liminary findings are based on an analy sis of 200 responses. When the survey is completed a comprehensive report will be issued.

Some respondents volunteered their comments on the questionnaires. A law

yer from New York wrote, "My first reaction to your survey was negative. The salutation of 'Dear Minority Law yer' probably underscores the racial schism that exists for non-white attor neys. The schism I speak of is in terms of financial security, mobility in the cor porate setting and fundamentally the breach between the American dream and the hard realities of modern-day racism.

"We are truly not a nation of laws, but of very intolerant men and women. In my experience as an attorney I can vouchsafe for the fact that the backward application of hatred and fear in our tainted halls of justice nationwide cry out for equity and relief.

"America has a promise to fulfill. Men like you will help fulfill the promise by focusing attention on the disinherited of the legal profession."

About the survey The objective of the survey is not lim

ited to recording data on the status of the racial minority lawyers. The survey seeks to poll lawyers from minority eth nic backgrounds on their opinions about the practice of law and the legal profes sion. This information will be extremely useful in allocating limited financial resources of various concerned organi zations in coordinated efforts to solve specific problems faced by minority law yers.

The Young Lawyers Division created the Minorities in the Profession Commit tee in 1979. The committee's initial pur pose was to increase participation, by minorities in the ABA but was later expanded to include the examination of important issues facing the minority law yer. Other committees in the Young Lawyers Division were encouraged to increase the involvement of minority lawyers and to examine issues facing

58 American Bar Association Journal

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minority lawyers within specified areas of responsibility.

The Career Planning and Placement Committee of the Young Lawyers Divi sion commenced a two-year study on

the career status and development of minority lawyers in 1982. The committee provided $2,500 to prepare survey ques

tionnaires, mail them and tabulate the results. North Carolina Central Univer

sity School of Law, a historically black law school and survey base, provided research assistants, secretarial assist ance and facilities to assist the commit tee's efforts. Mailing lists were obtained from the Minorities in the Profession Committee, minority bar organizations, state bar organizations and law schools.

The survey is a continuing project, and a second mailing of questionnaires was made in February and March.

Sample findings In the preliminary sampling, questions

on job satisfaction and perceptions of racial discrimination in 200 randomly selected returned questionnaires were

analyzed and correlated with employ ment and age. As is shown in the tables, the analysis of the sample revealed the following facts:

The largest proportion of minority lawyer respondents (21.5 percent) work as law firm partners, followed by sole practitioners (16.5 percent), lawyers in a federal agency or department (14.5 per

cent), law firm associates (9 percent) and corporate counsel (6.5 percent). (See Table 2.)

The average age of a minority law

yer responding to the survey was 37.6 years. (See Table 1.)

Minority lawyers expressed the highest average level of job satisfaction in the law firm partner category. In all other types of legal work minority law yers said they were somewhat satisfied on the average. (See Table 2.)

In the survey, 20 questions were asked

about the workplace environment. Each

question could be answered with five different responses: very satisfied (five points), somewhat satisfied (four points), neutral (three points), somewhat dissatisfied (two points) and very dissat isfied, (one point). In analyzing the data, the following scale was used:

80-100: Satisfied (89 respondents) 60-79: Somewhat satisfied (91 re

spondents) 40-59: Somewhat dissatisfied (15

respondents) 39 or less: Dissatisfied (5 respond

ents).

Only five respondents (2.5 percent)

TABLE 1 Analysis of Minority Lawyers

Ethnic background Number of respondents

Average job sat isfaction

Average perception of racial

discrimina tion

Average age of

respondent

Alaskan Native American Asian American Black/African American Cuban American Hispanic American Mexican American Native American Puerto Rican American Unidentified

1 16

134 3 5

26 6 8 1

70.00 77.37 74.75 72.67 74.40 81.50 72.17 78.12 90.00

12.00 17.87 19.86 16.33 17.50 17.38 14.50 18.12 23.00

42.00 33.81 37.80 30.67 39.60 39.12 43.17 34.12

No Response

*Three respondents did not give their age, and five respondents did racial discrimination questions.

Job satisfaction: 80-100: satisfied; 60-79: somewhat satisfied. Racial discrimination: 17-24: major problem; 8-16: minor problem.

not complete the

TABLE 2 Employment of Minority Lawyers

Job type Number of respondents

Average job

satisfaction

Sole practitioner Law firm associate Law firm partner Corporate counsel Federal agency or dept. State agency or dept.

District or city government attorney

Judges Law school professor or

administrator Legal services organization Public interest organization Others

33(16.5%) 18 (9%) 43(21.5%) 13 (6.5%) 29(14.5%) 7

11 10

9 12 12 3'

78.36 65.94 81.79 74.00 67.51 78.86

72.55 79.80

76.89 79.33 78.42 79.33

19.32 18.53 18.62 18.85 19.54 21.71

18.55 19.80

20.22 19.09 19.42 20.33

Job satisfaction: 80-100: satisfied; 60-79: somewhat satisfied. Racial discrimination: 17-24: major problem; 8-16: minor problem.

April 1984 Volume 70 59

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expressed optimum satisfaction with their jobs, with scores of 100 on the scale. Four were law firm partners and one was a federal district court judge.

Twenty-seven additional respondents

(13.5 percent) had scores of 90 or higher. Of these, 12 were law firm partners, three were corporate counsel, four were

sole practitioners, three were law firm associates and two were judges.

No claim is made that this is the only analysis of the data that can be made or that another scale might produce a bet ter analysis. The goal of the survey is to identify general trends of opinion.

Race discrimination Compared to the average minority cit

izen, minority lawyers are in a better position to express an opinion on the existence of racial discrimination. Their legal training makes them better qualified to identify disparate treatment based on race.

The survey inquired into perceptions of racial discrimination in the United States. Respondents were asked to eval uate the extent of discrimination against minorities in eight specific areas of life: getting decent housing, getting jobs equal to their training and ability, treat ment by police, treatment by courts and the judicial system, getting unskilled labor jobs, getting white collar jobs, get ting into labor unions and receiving equal wages for equal work.

The minority lawyers were asked if they perceived no discrimination (one point), some discrimination (two points) or very much discrimination (three points) against minorities in these eight areas of life. Accepting the assumption that racial discrimination is still a prob lem in the country, the following scale

was used to analyze the responses: 17-24: Major probem (157 respond

ents) 8-16: Minor problem (38 respondents). As the tables show, minority lawyers

from almost all ethnic backgrounds per ceived racial discrimination as a major problem. Minority lawyers working in state agencies or departments and work

ing as professors or school administra tors perceived the highest level of discrimination.

Thirteen respondents (6.5 percent) had scores of 24, at the top end of the scale; they cut across nine employment categories, including one law firm part ner. Seventy-five respondents (37.5 per cent) had scores of 20 or higher.

Sample comments These perceptions are borne out by

comments that respondents wrote on

their questionnaires: A lawyer from California wrote, "I

was stationed in [southern state] during World War II. We called it the a--h? of the U.S. The rednecks shot one of our

men. . . . The assailant shot into the

ground in front of the nightclub and hol lered, 'Dance, niggers dance.'

"We finally left when war broke out, relieved that we would have to confront the Japanese and Germans rather than

the rednecks. . . .

"I am proud of the black people who have lived there and elsewhere and somehow or other endured these and worse indignities sustained by God only knows what hopes and aspirations.

"Your interest is late for me, but there certainly is much to be done, not only for blacks and other ethnics here as well as women. ..."

A lawyer from Georgia said, "Thanks

Minority lawyers working in state agencies and working as professors or school administrators

perceived the highest level of discrimination.

for including me in your excellent and well-timed survey. I hope my participa tion contributed to greater opportunities for minority lawyers?we badly need it."

A lawyer from Illinois wrote, "I par ticipated in your survey despite my knowing that blacks as a group have been studied and studied. The sad result of those studies has been grants, Ph.D.s, M.A.s, etc., for graduate stu

dents and papers to be listed on resumes for Caucasian applicants. Blacks have enjoyed no benefits from them. . . .

"I do hope, however, that the subject minorities as well as your research pro gram will benefit from your study."

From Washington, D.C., came this

comment, "I feel discriminated against in term's of inclusion in social activities (with my co-workers away from the job at their initiative), but I really don't have a desire to socialize with my co-work ers."

A lawyer from New York wrote about

being, "Very dissatisfied that white attorney partners don't attempt to expose minority attorneys to sophisti cated transactions in the same way they do white attorneys.

"Consequently, at evaluation time it is easy for them to say that you haven't progressed sufficiently while in their training responsibilities. It still comes down to a very personal level with respect to whom the partner feels most comfortable working over an extended

period of time at close quarters." From Washington, D.C., a lawyer

commented, "Every law firm and legal department, corporate or government, has its own personality or cultural iden tity. Consequently, it may be more help ful to analyze the personality or cultural identity problems in hiring and retaining

minority attorneys."

Addressing the problems One black female lawyer suggested

that a question be included in the survey concerning the interaction of minorities on the job. An Asian lawyer stated that "discrimination was worse for blacks,

Hispanics and Indians." Another His panic lawyer found the concept of a "minority lawyer survey" to be insulting and demeaning. It Is fair to say that all lawyers do not agree on the term "minority lawyer," but most do agree that the survey is a step, be it a small one, in the right direction.

The determination of job satisfaction by minority lawyers in a preliminary sampling is the first step in the analysis process. When the Minority Lawyer Employment Survey is completed, addi tional correlations will be made using data obtained on law firm size, minority representation in employer organiza

tions, state and city employers, popula tion, age, experience, legal expertise, law school attended, law school activities, law school placement office assistance, first-job search, legal organi zation memberships and opinions con

cerning employment practices of legal employers. The results of this survey, I

hope, will enhance and focus efforts to address problems faced by minority law yers. _Jmj

(Percy R, Luney Jr. is assistant dean and assistant professor at North Car olina Central University School of Law in Durham. He also is vice chairperson of the Career Planning and Placement Committee of the ABA Young Lawyers Division and coordinator of the Minor ity Lawyer Employment Survey.)

60 American Bar Association Journal

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