Diversity remains relevant pursuit
The legal space was often seen as an exclusive White man’s club as that’s usually depicted in movies, commercials, law school, and public perception. Some of the issues adding to this stigma were systemic racism and the lack of opportunities presented to other ethnicities. Until a little over a decade ago, it was rare to see or know a Black, Brown, or women lawyer with notoriety, as they rarely attained high-profile cases to build their reputation. For the last decade, The Thompson Coburn LLP law firm has changed the narrative on diversity and inclusion within its offices.
Jennifer Post, the Los Angeles Managing Partner for Thompson Coburn LLP law firm, highlights the company’s diversity as a big reason for the firm’s success across the nation, and the working environment is one of the best. “The most important piece of our diversity program is that it makes Thompson Coburn LLP a better place to work, and it makes the firm more valuable to the clients,” Post said as she explained that diversity helps the firm connect better with clients, provides different points of view in problem-solving and how to approach work and overall better work culture.” Almost 40% of the management positions are filled with Women, Black people, and people of color. I am a gay woman who is out, and I couldn’t ask for a better work environment.”
According to the American Bar Association (ABA), the number of Black lawyers has gone up over the years but is still extremely low and on a downtrend. In 2020, African Americans made up 5% of lawyers, but now that number has dropped to 4.5%. On the other hand, the number of women lawyers has risen from 33% to 38%. LGBTQ+ members have seen growth in their numbers over the last few years, from 2.7 to 7.1%, according to The National Association of Law Placement.
Thompson Coburn LLP law firm started in the Midwest 90 years ago and branched out to various states like New York, Chicago, Washington D.C, Dallas and Los Angeles. The Los Angeles firm, while only recently hitting the 10-year mark, is still relatively young compared to the other offices. “ We’ve had steady growth over the last few years as we received a lot of recognition from local clients and clients outside of Los Angeles, and we are grateful for the success we had so far,” Post said as she spoke on the company and its approach to the tough LA market.
Post detailed that the firm’s approach to opening up in other locations is to always stay true to its roots, which is to target the middle and local markets and utilize the community around them to gather clients. “ Once you strip the glitz and glamor of trying to acquire the famous and well-known clients, you realize how diverse and big the middle market is in Los Angeles,” Post said as she talked about why the firm spends the majority of its resources with smaller and home-grown businesses in Los Angeles. “We want to operate with genuine people transparently, and that’s why we love working within the middle market.”
To learn more about and ask for service from the law firm, visit their website at www.thompsoncoburn.com.
