Manning & Kass Recognized for Diversity Efforts

Maning & Kass, Ellrod, Ramirez, Trester LLP was recently recognized by Lawyers of Color, a non-profit devoted to promoting diversity in the legal profession and advancing democracy and equality in marginalized communities. In their annual report, Black Student's Guide to Law Schools & Firms, they measure "individual law firm Black attorney percentages", and this year included a year-over-year analysis. While this is the first year that the firm submitted statistics to the organization, the firm measured in at 5.3%, which puts the firm in the "Excelling" category, the highest in the study.

While analyzing the data, Lawyers of Color notes "Unfortunately, our research confirms Black attorneys remain greatly underrepresented at law firms with a mean of 2.93% and a median of 2.83% Such low percentages are unjustified given Black attorneys represent 5% of the Bar and nearly 8% of law school graduates." The report notes that only 13% of firms are in the "Excelling" category, while the largest category was "Failing", which accounted for 27% of nation-wide firms. 

"Since we opened our doors 28 years ago, we have always had the policy to hire the best people, no matter the attorney's race, religion, or gender," said Firm Managing Partner Steven D. Manning. "This policy has directly resulted in our greatest successes and allowed us to thrive through recessions, a pandemic, and into the future. I'm proud to work with so many talented attorneys, who have helped make the firm what it is today."

You can read more about the firm's commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and find the full Lawyers of Color report here.