Group Led by Cruz Reynoso Scolds Law Firms for Low Minority Hiring

California’s largest law firms have come under attack from a group led by former state Supreme Court Justice Cruz Reynoso for failing to hire and promote more Latino lawyers.

While Latinos make up more than 20% of California’s population, only a “trivial” 2% of the entry-level associates and an “invisible” one-half of 1% of the partners in the largest 30 firms are Latinos, the group said.

In a letter sent to the firms Thursday, the Latino Issues Forum expressed “particular disappointment” that according to a survey published last month by the National Law Journal, some prominent firms reported no Latino lawyers among legal staffs of more than 100.

The group also said it was “most surprising and disturbing” to find that Los Angeles-based Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, the largest firm in the state with 579 partners and associates, had four Latino attorneys.

‘Poor Business Decision’

“The failure to hire and promote Hispanics could be a poor business decision given the growing economic importance of Hispanics and Mexico,” Reynoso, chairman of the Forum, said in a statement issued here.

The former justice, the first Latino member of the state high court, was defeated along with Chief Justice Rose Elizabeth Bird and Justice Joseph R. Grodin in the November, 1986, election.

The criticism of the state’s biggest firms reflects continued concern by civil rights groups over what they see as a disappointing lack of progress in efforts to bring racial minorities into the legal profession.

For example, while women lawyers have made marked gains--now making up about 33% of the associates in the nation’s largest law firms--blacks make up 2% and Latinos 1% of the associates, the Law Journal survey said.

(Generally, lawyers serve as associates for six to eight years before they can become partners and thus share in policy decisions and firm profits.)

One Impediment

Authorities acknowledge that one impediment may be the Bar examination, which must be passed in order to practice law in California. A recent article in the Stanford Law Review, analyzing the absence of Latinos in the law, noted that 34% of the Latinos and 20% of the blacks passed the July, 1985, California Bar exam, compared to 62% of the Anglos.

The Forum, an organization that includes lawyers, professors and leaders of several civil rights groups, was most critical of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, the seventh-largest firm in the country. “Despite its size and being located in the second-largest Hispanic economic market in the world, only one-half of 1% of Gibson’s attorneys are Hispanic,” the letter said.

Also criticized were four well-known firms the survey said had no Latino lawyers--Buchalter, Nemer, Fields & Younger of Los Angeles; Manatt, Phelps, Rothenberg & Phillips of Los Angeles; Sedgwick, Detert, Moran & Arnold of San Francisco, and Wyman, Bautzer, Christensen, Kuchel & Silbert of Los Angeles.

‘Proud of Our Record’

However, officials at Buchalter, Nemer said that contrary to the survey report, it employs six Latino associates on a total legal staff of 175, making it one of the best in the state at attracting minority lawyers.

“We’ve been very proud of our record and we are pretty disturbed at the report,” said Jean LeDoux, the firm’s director of professional recruitment.

“Recruiting minorities is not an easy thing to do,” she said. “Law firms tend to have some standards--such as student grade-point averages--that prevent a lot of minorities from being attractive candidates. We’ve been successful because we’ve gone out to law schools and shown our sincerity about recruiting minorities.”

Stephen D. Greenberg, managing partner of Manatt, Phelps--a firm known for its ties to liberal causes--said the firm is “well aware of its obligations” and will continue to press recent efforts to hire minorities.

‘Strong Views on the Subject’

Since the survey was taken, he said, the firm had hired one Latino lawyer as an associate and had offered jobs to five Latino law students upon their graduation this summer. “In a way, it’s unfortunate that we were singled out, given our strong views on the subject and attempts to recruit qualified minorities,” he said.

“Frankly, there is quite a bit of competition for the top minority candidates, with so many firms wanting to improve their records in that area. I suspect new surveys in the future will show more associates. That trend is going to continue.”

Kevin Dunne, a partner at Sedgwick, Detert in San Francisco, said the survey report should not be taken as a lack of effort by the firm to attract minorities.

“If we can find a qualified Hispanic, black or white, we are happy to have them,” Dunne said. “We’re not trying to exclude anyone. . . . But the pool of people is getting smaller as firms become bigger and bigger and hire more and more people.”

2 Firms Silent

The other two firms specifically criticized by the Forum did not respond Friday to requests for comment.

The Forum’s letter “particularly commended” San Francisco-based Pillsbury, Madison & Sutro, with 16 Latino associates and one Latino partner on a staff of 477, for its efforts to hire and promote Latinos.

The group said it planned to report the survey’s findings to the Mexican government and mayors of major cities “for their information” when they seek contracts for legal services.

The data will also be provided to major California utilities that recently agreed to guarantee 15% of all contracts--including legal contracts--to minority businesses and professionals, the Forum said.