According to a recent survey published by the Minority Corporate Counsel Association (MCCA), more women serve as general counsel at Fortune 500 companies in 2011 than ever before. Women now hold the top legal spot at 21 % of Fortune 500 companies and approximately 16% of these female general counsels identified themselves as minorities. MCCA President, Joe West, says “The real impact of this news, hopefully, is that it will illustrate to law firms that corporate law departments are serious about inclusion both in word and in deed, and that the time is coming when law firms need to get serious about it as well.”
The numbers of female and minority lawyers are increasing in corporate legal departments because of the transparency requirements put on them by government and the accountability required by consumers and shareholders, says Dr. Arin Reeves, an expert on diversity in the legal field. While the information in the MCCA report shows positive change, Reeves says it’s dangerous to allow short-term positive change to slow long-term momentum. “We should be very vigilant that we have a long way to go. We’re nowhere near represented yet, nowhere near full or unfettered opportunity for women or minorities.”
http://www.law.com/jsp/cc/PubArticleCC.jsp?id=1202567037361
