Midwest Law Firm Among Top Firms for Female Diversity

October 30, 2012

Plunkett Cooney, one of the Midwest’s oldest and largest law firms, was listed among The National Law Journal’s (NLJ) list of Top 15 firms nationally for the percentage of equity partners who are women.

“Obviously we are thrilled to be ranked among the best firms nationally for female partner diversity,” said Plunkett Cooney’s President and CEO Henry B. Cooney. “I’m looking forward to the day that our firm and the legal profession as a whole mirrors more closely the diversity of our nation.”

Plunkett Cooney, which is an ALTA member, ranked 13th of the 221 law firms listed by NLJ with 22.35 percent of its 85 equity partners being women. According to an additional study by The National Law Journal, the largest firms in the United States by headcount shows that women represent just 15 percent of equity partners.

The data included in the NLJ report was collected as part of the 2012 NLJ/Am Law 200 Survey, and it reflects the average full-time equivalent number of attorneys for 2011. Of the 258 law firms that responded to the survey, 221 were ranked based on their percentage female equity partners.

Plunkett Cooney has established a diversity plan that includes 10 specific goals designed to increase the size of the firm’s diversity pool of employment candidates and to retain them once they have joined the firm. The firm’s commitment to diversity serves to advance each of the strategic goals, which includes policies to recruit, train and maintain a diverse team of exceptional professionals, paralegals and support staff.

Established in 1913, Plunkett Cooney employs approximately 160 attorneys in nine Michigan cities, Columbus, Ohio and Indianapolis, Ind. The firm, which provides a range of transactional and litigation defense services, has achieved the highest rating (AV) awarded by Martindale-Hubbell, a leading, international directory of law firms.


Contact ALTA at 202-296-3671 or communications@alta.org.