The Dallas Diversity Task Force (DDTF) today released its 2012 report assessing the diversity accomplishments of the 20 major law firms practicing in the Dallas County area. For the sixth consecutive year, the Dallas office of international law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP (Weil) ranked first for law firm diversity.

Weil topped the 2012 rankings in the report by achieving a composite score of 75.45, making it one of only two firms to achieve a score above 70. The average composite score in the 2012 survey was 49, compared to 46.88 last year.

Each composite score calculated for the survey was based on a firm’s number of minority attorneys, number of minority equity partners and the diversity across minority groups represented in the firm’s attorney ranks. The composite score measured firms against two benchmarks: the population of the State of Texas, and the racial and ethnic composition of State Bar of Texas. The 2012 report also included checklist scores that measure firms’ diversity efforts to recruit, retain and promote minority attorneys.

“We’re very proud that we have topped the list for six consecutive years,” said Glenn West, managing partner of Weil’s Dallas office. “Firmwide, Weil’s commitment to the values of diversity, tolerance and respect infuses everything that we do. We have worked hard to develop a culture that celebrates the differences among our attorneys and staff. Even beyond Dallas, Weil has taken a leadership role in diversity in each of our 21 worldwide offices. We believe that our diversity initiative provides us with different perspectives that lead to a better practice of the law, while creating unequaled career opportunities for our approximately 1,200 attorneys worldwide.”

Since the inception of the survey in 2006, Weil is the only Dallas-area firm to score more than 70 on each of the reports. Within a Dallas office of approximately 85 attorneys, 21 come from diverse backgrounds and 35 are women. The firm also encourages participation in internal affinity groups geared toward diversity, while numerous attorneys serve on the boards of Dallas’ leading diversity legal groups, including the J.L. Turner Association (the African American bar association of Dallas County) and the Dallas Hispanic Bar Association, among others.

The Dallas Diversity Task Force is composed of representatives from the Dallas Asian American Bar Association, the Dallas Hispanic Bar Association and the J.L. Turner Legal Association. A copy of the 2012 Dallas Law Firm Diversity Report will soon be available on the Dallas Diversity Task Force website, www.diversitytaskforce.com.