PressEthic

After reading an article about the decline of black lawyers on The New York Times website, it left me wondering if many large corporations or firms are hiring minority on double standards. When I say double standards, I'm referring to the research that was presented in the article by Richard A. Sanders, law professor at the University of California. In sum, his research concluded that grades are a large determinent in the gap between black partners and white partners in large law firms; as such, many of the minority lawyers, according to Sanders, are being set up for failure because they've been hired simply to boost minortiy stats. I, myself, don't buy this scenario and agree largely with Professor James E. Coleman, law professor at Duke University, who asserts the large gap to the firms' failures to provide minority associates with mentoring, encouragement, and good assignments like their white counterparts. The article even gave the opposing angle of white female associates who tend to have slightly better grades than white men, yet they are also under represented in classes of new partners. However, they don't report the abscense of mentoring and choice assignments that minority associates do. Notwithstanding Sanders' arguments validity about grades, it again goes to show how minorities are usually the ones neglected in the work force. Currently, there are only about 8% of corporate law firm hires are Black.