The legal profession, which was almost entirely white, slowly began to crack open its doors to lawyers of color in the 1970s. The 1972-73 Prelaw Handbook (p. 9) noted that "the number of lawyers from minority groups is still disproportionately small" but there were "signs of change."
👉Research tip: Back before prospective students researched law schools on the web, people relied on the annual Prelaw Handbook, which included profiles of all accredited law schools. The law library has a long run, so you can look for information about law schools over the decades. Classified Stacks KF285 .A83.
The Handbook noted:
Large law firms and corporations which once were not open to Negroes now seek young black lawyers. . . . There has been a significant increase in government positions, with minority group lawyers serving in the offices of city attorneys, federal district attorneys and agencies of all kinds. Black judges sit on federal, state and municipal benches. In 1970 there were 3,845 black lawyers and 214 black judges. By contrast in the 1971-72 academic year, there were 3,732 Blacks, 881 Chicanos, and about 1,000 other minority group members enrolled in law schools.
Think of that: there were almost as many Black law students that year as there were Black lawyers!
What was it like for those early lawyers of color?
One snapshot is in Minority Opportunities in Law for Blacks, Puerto Ricans & Chicanos (Christine Philpot Clark ed., 1974) [link to catalog record]. Its chapters include private practice, law teaching (by critical race theory pioneer Professor Derrick A. Bell, Jr.), politics and government, "community interest law," and the bench. It also has a chapter on the bar exam and one discussing the Black bar's role in Black people's struggle for social justice.
The book had an interesting genesis. The Practising Law Institute recruited Christine Clark to edit a collection of articles about career opportunities for minority lawyers. She did, but PLI decided not to publish it. The official reason was that it was far too negative in tone, emphasizing obstacles rather than opportunities." Clark said that the real reason was that the book was "too radical." Joel Dreyfuss, The Verdict Was 'Too Negative,' Wash. Post, Sept. 30, 1973, at L1 [ProQuest Historical Newspapers link] The book was published the next year, but by Law Journal Press, not PLI.
👉Research tip: UW users can search current and historic newspapers through databases that the University Libraries licenses. Start with this guide.
What about now?
Today the United States has about four times as many lawyers as it did in 1970.
1970: 326,842 lawyers
2021: 1,327,910 lawyers
Source: ABA National Lawyer Population Survey at 3. Perhaps 15% of lawyers are Black, Latinx, Asian, or multiracial. Id. at 4.
👉Research tip: For statistics on the legal profession, a good place to start is the ABA Legal Profession Statistics page.
- Why did I give the vague number "perhaps 15%"? Because that column of the table was based on only 25 state bar associations or licensing authorities who reported the statistic.
Research guide
Our guide, Diversity in the Legal Profession, includes lots of sources, such as studies of the profession, advice for employers, and advice for law students and lawyers. Take a look! (Black History Month is one of the best twelve months to learn about this topic!)
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