Law360® Pulse (A LexisNexis® Company) has released the results of its 11^th Annual Diversity Snapshot survey in which Seed IP Law Group proudly ranks #7 on the ‘Law Firms With the Most Diverse Equity Partnerships’ list of U.S. law firms with 100 or fewer attorneys. The firms on this list demonstrate that law firms can create minority leadership opportunities and can build partnerships with diverse talent and perspectives. The majority of firms that surpass the equity partner diversity benchmark employ 100 attorneys or fewer. 

Law firms have been proactively expanding their nonequity partner ranks as an increasing number of firms adopt a two-tier partnership structure.

“As the first female managing partner at Seed IP, I have experienced the open, inclusive environment that is the backbone of our firm. We strive for a collaborative, supportive environment that helps each team member grow and succeed. We embrace and value our differences, acknowledging we are better as a diverse team,” says Hayley Talbert, Seed IP's Managing Partner.

Methodology

To evaluate firms at the associate level, Law360 Pulse computed the 2016–2023 portion of juris doctor degree recipients of color from all law schools accredited by the American Bar Association. That figure amounts to 31.4% when non-U.S. residents are omitted. The eight-year window accounts for the fact that attorneys often work as associates for several years.

Representation of nonequity partners was gauged against the percentage of attorneys of color at the associate and other attorney levels reported by firms in 2021–2023 data from Law360's annual law firm survey. ("Other attorneys" are a segment of nonpartners who usually are employed as staff attorneys and various types of counsel.) This benchmark comes out to 26.7%.

Firm diversity at the equity partner level was assessed against the aggregated proportion of attorneys of color at the nonequity partner, associate and other attorney levels across the same three years of survey data. That benchmark amounts to 24.1%.

The benchmark for other attorneys is computed as the harmonic mean of the equity partner, nonequity partner and associate benchmarks, which comes out to 27.1%.

A handful of two-tier firms didn't split their partner data across the equity and nonequity levels. The diversity percentage for their total partners was evaluated against a composite version of the equity and nonequity benchmarks, which was based on the average industrywide split of partners across the two levels. This total partner benchmark amounts to 25.4%.

Benchmarks were subtracted from the proportion of attorneys of color at each level of seniority. The differentials were then summed together, with each level weighted by its proportion of the firm's total attorneys. Calculations and rankings use unrounded numbers.

Firms that did not provide a racial/ethnic breakdown for their U.S. attorney headcounts were ineligible for the Diversity Snapshot. All data shown uses firm headcounts as of Dec. 31, 2024. The ranking does not reflect law firm mergers that were completed in 2025.

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