Persistent Gender and Racial Inequality in U.S. Law Firms – Longitudinal Evidence from the MCCA Survey

• In Event: The State and the Practice of Law

Abstract

This study examines long-term patterns of gendered, racial, and sexuality-based stratification in U.S. law firms using longitudinal data from the Minority Corporate Counsel Association (MCCA) Law Firm Survey from 2007 to 2023. Tracing demographic change across recruitment, retention, and promotion, the analysis provides a descriptive account of how inequality is reproduced over time within the legal profession.
The results show that while recruitment into law firms has become increasingly inclusive, disproportionately high attrition among women and attorneys of color—particularly Black attorneys—continues to offset gains at entry. Promotion outcomes exhibit partial convergence across groups but reflect advancement among a selective subset of attorneys who remain within firms. Together, these findings underscore retention as a critical bottleneck and highlight how organizational processes sustain inequality within elite professional labor markets.

Author

• Xiwen Huang, Washington University in St. Louis