Fish Named a "Top Firm" for Minority Attorneys by Law360

Fish & Richardson announced today that it has been named one of the best law firms in the country for minority attorneys by Law360 in its first ever ranking of the 100 best U.S. law firms for racial minorities. Fish was ranked #26 on the list of "Top 100 Law Firms for Minority Attorneys" and #19 on the list of "Top 25 Firms for Asian-American Attorneys."

The Law360 ranking looked at firms' minority representation at the partner and non-partner levels and their total number of minority attorneys. The publication noted that Asian-American lawyers make up at least 10.8 percent of non-partners and 5.2 percent of partners at all the firms on the list of "Top 25 Firms for Asian-American Attorneys." The average firm on the "Top 25" list also has nearly triple the percentage of Asian-American attorneys in the U.S., compared to all other firms surveyed.

"We are honored to be named to these lists and gratified by this recognition of our diversity efforts. At Fish, we know that diversity in the legal profession is not merely the right thing to do, it also makes good business sense," said Ahmed J. Davis, National Chair of Diversity Initiative and Principal of the firm. "We take great pride in our 1L Diversity Fellowship Program, which was launched in 2005 as a key component of our ongoing initiative to recruit, retain, and advance a diverse group of attorneys. But we never sit back and rest on our laurels. As this survey shows, there is still much work to be done."

Fish is consistently recognized as one of the country’s top law firms for diversity. In 2014, the firm was ranked in the top 15 percent of law firms for diversity, based on the number of minorities in its offices, according to the American Lawyer Diversity Scorecard. Fish received a top rating of 100 percent on the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) 2014 Corporate Equality Index, which rates businesses for the treatment of LGBT employees in the workplace. The firm was named by Vault, Inc. to the Best Law Firms for Diversity: Diversity for Minorities Top 25 list in 2013, and has been included for seven consecutive years in MultiCultural Law magazine's list of the Top 100 Law Firms for Diversity.

Law360 surveyed nearly 300 firms about their overall and minority head count numbers as of December 31, 2014. Only U.S.-based attorneys were included in the survey. Firms are ranked based on three factors: the percentage of partners, both equity and non-equity, who are minorities and/or Asian-Americans; the percentage of non-partners who are minorities and/or Asian-Americans; and the number of minority and/or Asian-American attorneys at the firm.