Orrick's New Partners: Diverse By Many Metrics
Out of 18 new partners, 10 are diverse or women lawyers.
In the Biglaw annual calendar, what does January stand for? Some firms announce bonuses this month. Some lawyers, bonuses from last year in hand, make lateral moves. But perhaps the most notable thing about January is how it is, for most firms at least, the effective date of partnership for new partners.
In our New Partner Watch feature, we’ve been writing about new partnership classes at selected firms. We tend to write about announcements that are, for one reason or another, interesting. For this current cycle, we’ve been focused on diversity (or the lack thereof) among new Biglaw partners. If you think you have a class that merits scrutiny, please email us (subject line: “New Partner Watch”).
Today’s topic: the 18 new partners at Orrick, which the firm just announced yesterday. From their press release (posted in full on the next page):
Orrick announced today the admission of 18 lawyers to the firm’s partnership, effective January 1, 2017.
“We are thrilled to welcome these exceptional lawyers to our partnership,” said Orrick Chairman & CEO Mitch Zuklie. “This diverse team demonstrates our continued commitment to the technology, energy & infrastructure, and finance sectors, and to our powerhouse litigation and IP platform.”
Orrick’s 2017 partner class includes six tech-focused corporate partners, one energy & infrastructure partner and six finance partners. It includes five litigation partners, including two IP litigators. The new partners are based in eight U.S. offices, as well as in Paris and Düsseldorf. Eleven have spent their entire law firm careers with Orrick. Ten of the 18 are diverse or women lawyers.
Congratulations to these 18 new partners on grabbing the ultimate Biglaw brass ring, and congratulations to Orrick on the impressive diversity of its class. The new partners are diverse according to many metrics — by practice area, geography, racial or ethnic background, and gender.
There are six partners who are diverse in terms of race/ethnicity: Daniel Kim (Los Angeles), David Lin (San Francisco), Bola Oloko (New York), Cathy Lui (San Francisco), John Palmer (San Francisco), and Michael Yang (Silicon Valley). There are five women partners: Irma Foley (D.C.), Christine Reynolds (Portland), Alyssa Caridis (Los Angeles), Diane Lamarche (Paris), and Cathy Lui (San Francisco).
The wording of the Orrick announcement is worth noting as well. Firm chair Mitch Zuklie praises this “diverse team” of “exceptional lawyers,” and the announcement explicitly notes that 10 out of the 18 new partners are diverse or women lawyers.
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It’s nice to see diversity get a shout-out. If you happen to be a general counsel who cares about the diversity of your lawyers, you should know that Orrick does as well.
(Flip to the next page to read the complete Orrick press release.)
David Lat is the founder and managing editor of Above the Law and the author of Supreme Ambitions: A Novel. He previously worked as a federal prosecutor in Newark, New Jersey; a litigation associate at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz; and a law clerk to Judge Diarmuid F. O’Scannlain of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. You can connect with David on Twitter (@DavidLat), LinkedIn, and Facebook, and you can reach him by email at dlat@abovethelaw.com.
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