Overall gains have been made at the summer associate level in the representation of women, summer associates of color, and LGBTQ summer associates at major U.S. law firms in 2021 as compared to 2020. The annual Report on Diversity at U.S. Law Firms, released this month, is based on the 2021-2022 NALP Directory of Legal Employers (NDLE). The percentage of summer associates of color grew by nearly five percentage points in a single year, the largest gain in the 29 years that the National Association for Law Placement (NALP) has been tracking this information. In addition, women made up more than half of all summer associates for the fourth year in a row, and the proportion of LGBTQ summer associates increased to 8.41%, also a historic high. “Without doubt, this… . . . read more