The upper reaches of law firms, the judiciary, legal academia, and the law societies appear to be predominantly white, privileged, and male. I suspect this is partially owing to demographic trends, in that today’s pool of law firm leaders and judges reflect the demographics of law student ranks of the 1970s or 1980s where, as a percentage of each graduating class, there were more white privileged men attending law school than there are now. But it is also likely the product of systemic, self-perpetuating conditions that, despite shifting demographics, make it easier for privileged white men to advance in law than others, yielding disproportionate representation of the already privileged amongst the upper ranks. Published in
Law Matters.
Bennett Jones