By ALLISSA KLINE
Business First

Take a look at the Western New York legal community, and you'll see a lot of white faces.

Minority attorneys and judges are more common today than 20 years ago. But most law professionals in Buffalo - where U.S. census figures from 2000 show that the minority population is nearly 50 percent - are Caucasian, according to the results of a survey conducted by the Buffalo Law Journal and the Western New York chapter of the Women's Bar Association of the State of New York.

It's a sad, but not surprising, reality for David Edmunds, an African-American attorney at one of the city's largest law firms.

"I think it's fair to say the statistics speak for themselves," said Edmunds, special counsel at Phillips Lytle LLP. "We have not made a lot of progress in this area. Those numbers ought to look somewhat like the society we live in."

Less than 6 percent of survey respondents identify themselves as African-American, Hispanic or Asian attorneys, results show. In turn, the number of minority lawyers at corporate law firms who are partners, either equity or non-equity, is strikingly low.

Hodgson Russ attorney Adam Perry believes he is Buffalo's only African-American equity, or shareholding, partner.

"This is significant and this is awful," said Perry, a lawyer in Buffalo since 1994. "It's awful that I'm the only one who identifies myself as an equity partner."

Racial and ethnic diversity in Western New York has long been a complex and, for many people, uncomfortable subject. That sensitivity is reflected in the 4,700-member Erie County legal community, whose own minority leaders sometimes hesitate to frankly discuss the issue.

Most agree that some barriers have been jostled, but not completely pushed down.

Minority lawyers in the 1980s had two choices: work for the government and hope to become a judge, or "hang a shingle and make it on your own," said John Elmore, an African-American partner at Harter Secrest & Emery. Today, there are African-American judges in all courts and minority attorneys at some firms, he said.

"Society is changing for the better," Elmore said. "There are a lot of young, bright, energetic African-American attorneys in some of the larger law firms in Buffalo, and that's an exciting thing."

Elmore, who worked as a solo practitioner for several years, would not say whether he is an equity partner at Harter Secret & Emery. Equity partners are partial owners of their firms and share in any profits; non-equity or contract partners do not own a stake in their practice.

The region's limited racial and ethnic diversity of lawyers is not a Western New York-specific problem. Buffalo native Tasha Dandridge said she's always been the only African-American attorney at the firms where she's worked, including the New York City firm where she worked for five years before returning last year to Buffalo. That firm, however, did employ Indian and Muslim attorneys, she said.

U.S. census figures from the year 2000 show that whites make up 89.2 percent of the nationwide population of lawyers, while African-Americans make up 3.9 percent of that total population. Hispanics and Asians make up 3.3 percent and 2.3 percent, respectively.

The issue is recognized, but not recorded, at the state and local levels. Neither the New York State Bar Association nor the Bar Association of Erie County keeps track of the number of minorities who are member attorneys.

In Erie County, diversity among lawyers is a priority, but it is "not always as constant as we'd like," Bar Association President Giles Manias said.

Some believe the wide gap between the numbers of white attorneys and minority attorneys could be bridged at the law-school level, so a few local firms have established scholarships and mentorship programs for University at Buffalo Law School students.

Others, like the local Minority Bar Association, are thinking about establishing programs at grade schools to introduce children to the legal profession.

"We have identified a goal to mentor kids in grade school," said Tasha Moore, president of the Minority Bar Association and director of the Buffalo chapter of the New York State Division of Human Rights. "We have to let them know this is a realistic career for them."

At the professional level, some firms make internal commitments to hire and retain a diverse group of attorneys. Joseph Hanna, an associate at Goldberg Segalla LLP, said diversity as a key initiative means his firm will increase its bottom line, strengthen social values and encourage economic progress and intellectual merit within the legal business.

"That's the step you have you take," said Hanna, who's coordinating a diversity networking event in October that will bring minority lawyers together to discuss diversity. "That's key to successfully growing a law firm."

The key to attracting more minority attorneys ultimately will involve a combination of entities - law schools, law firms, the judiciary, bar associations and community leadership - working together, Edmunds said.

"Until we've achieved diversity at all of those levels, we're always going to be juggling that ball to see what part is out of sync," Edmunds said.

But first, the legal community must acknowledge the lack of diversity and choose to do something about it, Perry said.

"Firms have not made it a priority to say, ‘We need attorneys of color in our firm,' " Perry said. "The policy should be: ‘Having a diverse-looking group of lawyers is a thing of value.' That's the first issue that has to be addressed.

"We can do better," he added. "We need to do better."