Ballard Spahr has been ranked as one of the top 10 law firms of its size for minority equity partners by Law360's Diversity Snapshot.
Law360 surveyed more than 300 firms and divided them into four groups based on number of lawyers. For firms with 300–599 attorneys, Ballard Spahr ranked as the eighth best firm for minority equity partners—with 9.6 percent of the partnership composed of equity partners of color.
"One of the foundations of our firm is a belief that every lawyer should have the opportunity to succeed at the highest level," said firm Chair Mark Stewart. "Minority partners make important contributions as members of the Board and partner compensation committee and in leadership roles as Department Chairs, Office Managing Partners, and Practice Leaders. Their success paves the way for younger lawyers who look to them for inspiration and guidance."
Ballard Spahr is dedicated to advancing diversity and inclusion at all levels. The firm sponsors an affinity group for diverse non-partner lawyers, which includes minority attorneys. It hosts yearly resume-writing workshops for minority law students and diverse lawyer networking events in its Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., offices.
In addition to the Law360 distinction, Ballard Spahr was recently ranked in the top 20 percent of Am Law 200 firms for minority equity partners. Last year, the firm was honored by the Mortgage Bankers Association with the organization's first-ever Diversity and Inclusion Leadership Award for Organizational Diversity and Inclusion. The award recognized the firm's initiatives designed to increase internal diversity and promote inclusion at all levels.
The firm also was recognized recently for its support of women attorneys. It was sixth among all major law firms for percentage of female equity partners, according to a recent report by The American Lawyer. It was listed as one of the top 50 law firms for women lawyers by theNational Law Journal's Female Scorecard, which ranks the nation's largest law firms according to their percentages of women attorneys. Last year, the firm was named one of the 100 best U.S. law firms for women attorneys by Law360 as part of its Glass Ceiling report.
"Over the last decade, we've consistently ranked above similarly sized firms for minority partners," said Ballard Spahr Chief Diversity Officer Virginia G. Essandoh. "Yet, we continue to raise the bar to keep challenging ourselves."
About Ballard Spahr
Ballard Spahr LLP, an Am Law 100 law firm with more than 500 lawyers in 13 offices in the United States, provides a range of services in litigation, business and finance, real estate, intellectual property, and public finance. Our clients include Fortune 500 companies, financial institutions, life sciences and technology companies, health systems, investors and developers, government agencies and sponsored enterprises, educational institutions, and nonprofit organizations. The firm combines a national scope of practice with strong regional market knowledge. For more information, please visit www.ballardspahr.com.
