Bloomberg Law DEI Framework
Raising the bar – one law firm at a time
Pushing boundaries, shaping success
It’s never been more critical for law firms to demonstrate their commitment to DEI. The biggest companies and the most promising attorneys are all looking for firms that promote equity, and rejecting those that don’t.
Get inspired — watch member firms from Bloomberg Law’s DEI Framework share their views on DEI.
If you want to recruit or retain the brightest legal minds to choose or remain at your firm, DEI is essential.
It’s not lip service: the large corporate clients you want to work with are demanding firmwide DEI as a prerequisite.
Now is the time for the legal industry to prioritize equity and lead the way for others.
What is the Bloomberg Law DEI Framework?
The Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Framework is a listing of law firms that meet or exceed a rising standard for diversity, equity, and inclusion in their firms.
Benchmarking diversity-related data provides proof of a law firm’s efforts to hire and retain talent and allows businesses to evaluate the firm’s commitment to DEI by established criteria, including:
- ︎Leadership and talent pipelines︎
- Recruitment and retention︎
- Business innovation and strategy
- ︎Bias and harassment training
- ︎Diverse brand
A note from the President
Bloomberg Law is deeply committed to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion in the legal industry. Our DEI Framework is an industry-leading program to recognize law firms’ commitment to DEI through a rigorous, quantitative, and transparent methodology. The program supports firms with data to benchmark their progress in important areas, while also providing the industry with a standardized metric for measuring firms’ commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. When you see the Bloomberg Law DEI seal associated with a firm, you know it is leading the industry.
I’m pleased to report that the number of participants in the DEI Framework saw double-digit growth year-on-year for the third year in a row. It has been a challenging year in the DEI space, and the continued growth of this program indicates that the legal industry has not been deterred or lost focus on improving diversity, equity, and inclusion in law firms. The Bloomberg Law team takes great pride in providing a framework against which firms can benchmark their efforts.
Four years into this program, we’ve seen incremental changes toward more diversity at all levels. Women now make up 30% of all partners and 53% of all associates, compared with 27.7% of partners and 47.6% of associates in 2021. The percentage of Black partners and associates also increased over the past three years. Nearly half of all firms that submitted data this year indicated a succession plan that specifically emphasizes greater inclusion of diverse and minority attorneys. It’s this kind of focus that will result in a more diverse class of law firm leaders in future years.
Congratulations to the 57 member firms most recently recognized and thank you to all the firms that participated in the process.
Sincerely,
Joseph P. Breda
President, Bloomberg Law
2024 Member Firms
- ︎Amin Talati Wasserman
- Armstrong Teasdale
- Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC
- Barnes & Thornburg LLP
- BCLP LLP
- Bilzin Sumberg
- Bond, Schoeneck & King, PLLC
- Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney
- Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP
- CDF Labor Law LLP
- Chiesa Shahinian & Giantomasi PC
- Crowell & Moring
- Davis Wright Tremaine LLP
- Dinsmore & Shohl LLP
- Edlin Gallagher Huie + Blum
- Epstein Becker & Green, P.C.
- Fish & Richardson P.C.
- Foley & Lardner LLP
- Fox Rothschild LLP
- ︎Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer US LLP
- Friedman Kaplan Seiler Adelman & Robbins LLP
- Groom Law Group, Chartered
- Hanson Bridgett LLP
- Haynes and Boone, LLP
- Hecker Fink LLP
- Hogan Lovells
- Holland & Hart LLP
- Holland & Knight LLP
- Hooper, Lundy & Bookman, PC
- Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP
- Husch Blackwell LLP
- Kutak Rock LLP
- Labaton Keller Sucharow
- Lane Powell PC
- McCarter & English, LLP
- McDermott Will & Emery
- Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP
- Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP
- ︎Nixon Peabody LLP
- Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP
- Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C.
- O’Melveny & Myers
- Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP
- Proskauer Rose LLP
- Reed Smith LLP
- Robinson & Cole LLP
- Ropes & Gray LLP
- Seyfarth Shaw
- Sheppard Mullin
- Steptoe LLP
- Thompson Coburn LLP
- Tucker Ellis LLP
- Vinson & Elkins
- Wiley Rein LLP
- Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP
- WilmerHale
- Wong Fleming, P.C.
Findings from the 2024 DEI Framework Data
FAQs
About the DEI Framework and law firm eligibility
The Bloomberg Law Diversity Equity and Inclusion Framework (the “Framework”) is a listing of law firms that meet or exceed an established threshold of diversity measured across areas such as recruitment and retention, leadership and talent pipelines, and business strategy — as determined by a panel of experts from industry, academia, and the legal industry. There are numerous studies that demonstrate the positive impact of diversity on business outcomes, and many corporations are now requiring outside counsel to demonstrate their commitment to diversity before winning business. Bloomberg Law’s DEI Framework provides a platform for standardizing law firm diversity metrics, allowing firms to provide their data in one comprehensive Data Collection Instrument (the “Collection Instrument”) and corporations to quickly access a DEI Framework Listing (the “Listing”) of firms that meet or exceed an established threshold of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
The Bloomberg Law team worked closely with our partners from Bloomberg’s Gender-Equality Index team, as well as diversity leads at major law firms to design a comprehensive data collection instrument. Going forward, the Collection Instrument will be reviewed and updated annually to ensure alignment with global trends, methodologies, and best practices.
DEI Framework listing inclusion
At this time, only U.S.-based law firms are eligible for listing inclusion and participation in the Framework.
Not yet. However, this is an important and evolving area, so we may expand the DEI Framework to include in-house legal department at some point.
No. The Listing is a catalog of all law firms that meet or exceed an established threshold of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Yes. Once you receive your personal invitation (see “Submitting Your Data” section below for more details), the first page of the data upload site will provide a link to download a PDF of all questions, or request a copy by emailing us at DEI_Framework@bloombergindustry.com
We encourage you to answer and provide data for as many questions as possible to give the fullest picture of the diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts at your firm. However, each firm has the discretion to decide the number of questions within the Collection Instrument it chooses to answer and data it chooses to disclose.
Once data is submitted, a Bloomberg Law data analyst will review your submission to validate and confirm the submission, including reviewing any links provided. If we have any clarifying questions for you, we will reach out to you with notes on your submission to review. Final data will be scored for Listing inclusion and you will also receive a summary report of your score for internal benchmarking purposes. You may download a PDF of your full submission once you have finished entering your data. You can also request that we send this to you. Email your request to DEI_Framework@bloombergindustry.com
We use a proprietary scoring model to determine each firm’s Framework score, and those firms with a score at or above an established threshold will be included in the Listing. The scoring model is developed and validated by a panel of experts from industry, academia, and the legal industry. Detailed scoring methodology from 2024 can be viewed here. The scoring is largely the same year over year.
No, any individual firm responses submitted will not be identified, included, or published on our website or in the Listing itself. However, the firms included in the Listing will be publicly available on our website pro.bloomberglaw.com/DEI. Aggregate high-level findings—including overall reported industry demographics and percentage of firms with various policies—will also be available on this website once data is analyzed in Q3 2025. Firms who make the Listing may also have an identifier attached to their firm profile within the Bloomberg Law platform and on the Bloomberg Terminal.
No. There is no appeals process; however, if you believe there is an element of diversity, equity, and inclusion that the Framework is missing please let us know as we intend to update the Collection Instrument annually.
Submitting your data
You may request a personal invitation to upload your firm’s data here. This can also be accessed via the Framework site pro.bloomberglaw.com/DEI. If you would like additional information before requesting your invitation, please email DEI_Framework@bloombergindustry.com
Bloomberg Law takes extensive measures to protect and secure your personal information and company data. Data is collected through Qualtrics Labs, Inc. (“Qualtrics”). For more information about Qualtrics’ security practices, see here. For information on their handling of personal information please see their Privacy Statement here.
All data files are then downloaded and stored securely on servers owned by Bloomberg Industry Group and its corporate affiliates. Access to the data will be limited to the Bloomberg Law Data Analysis and Surveys and support teams. For more information on how Bloomberg Industry Group handles personal information please see our Privacy Policy. Only verified and invited users may access the data Collection Instrument.
A full description of the DEI data policy can be found at: https://www.bloombergindustry.com/privacy-policy/
Users (i.e. those individuals wanting to participate in the Framework) are reviewed by a Bloomberg Law analyst to ensure they are an appropriate data contributor from a qualifying U.S. law firm.
The Bloomberg Law team is here to support you throughout the entire reporting process. You may contact the team at DEI_Framework@bloombergindustry.com or Molly Huie (Team Lead – Data, Legal Analytics & Business) directly at mhuie@bloombergindustry.com or Brittany Long (Assistant Team Lead – Data & Surveys) at blong@bloombergindustry.com if you have questions or feedback. We are also happy to schedule a call to discuss your questions.
No. Submitting data and inclusion in the Listing is free to all U.S. law firms.
Names of firms that do not meet or exceed the established threshold of diversity, equity, and inclusion specified by the Framework will not be disclosed. Scoring breakdowns and a summary report will be available to all firms who submit their data.
Bloomberg Law’s DEI Framework will be accepting data February – May 2025.
Data collected should reflect FY24. The full Listing will be available Q3 2025.
Bloomberg’s Commitment
As part of the Bloomberg organization, we believe that by bringing together professionals from all walks of life, we ensure that unique, diverse perspectives inform our work and enable us to provide unique, diverse solutions to our customers.
As a neutral third party serving both in-house counsel and law firms, we are well-situated to help them navigate the complexities of DEI. In addition, our reputation as a trusted source for news and analysis means we are uniquely positioned to compile, analyze, and distribute DEI data to this market.
Right from the headlines
DEI is a rapidly developing story with an impact on individual organizations and the broader industry. Rely on Bloomberg Law news to stay current with the latest DEI-related legal and business developments.
US Marshals’ Blind Spots Leave Judges Vulnerable to Threats
By Lydia Wheeler
December 7, 2023
Law Firms’ Culprit for Collections Drop Lurks in Their Offices
By Roy Strom
December 7, 2023
Biden’s Team to Target Pollution, Tweak Tax Rules Next Year (1)
By Courtney Rozen
December 6, 2023