“The Walk Down the Hall”

Albert Dandridge, chair of Schnader’s Securities Practice Group, wrote “The Walk Down the Hall,” which was published in The Legal Intelligencer on November 23, 2010. The article notes that according to the most recent statistics released by the National Association for Law Placement (NALP), the recession has had an unfortunate impact on diversity in law firms. Essentially, diversity at law firms has fallen over the past year, and that the decline resulted, in large part, from the recession. 

Mr. Dandridge goes on to emphasize that the practice of law still relies heavily on personal relationships, and that more experienced attorneys should seek to develop relationships with the younger, diverse attorneys in their practice by “walking down the hall” and including them in professional activities, such as client meetings, bar association events, speaking engagements, and more. At the same time, young, diverse attorneys need to display those attributes that will allow the more experienced attorneys in their practice develop trust in their abilities, including a positive attitude and likeability, a strong work ethic, and the ability to produce consistent, high-quality work.