[Williams]

Walmart is far from the first big company to do this. Others long ago had firms filling out paperwork listing women and minorities. Sadly this is all nonsense for publicity sake. Walmart uses big firms which are like any big company. So imagine being at one of these firms, white male with a wife and kids, and you lose your job because the big client wants a different color, whether or not you're the better lawyer. real nice, huh?

Walmart is trying to clean up its image. I'm pretty sure they got in big trouble for hiding stuff in discovery in lots of cases. basically, they hired extra sleazy lawyers and paid them by the case. So the lawyers would put the case in a drawer and ignore court orders, etc. They got hit with mucho sanctions. So now they are going the big firm big publicity route.

[demkicker]

I'm sorry, but who in the hell does Wal-Mart think they are DEMANDING diversity from ANY profession? What unmitigated gall they have! Wal-Mart needs to mind its own business. What a stupid, idiotic transparent press release!

Oh, and what is Wal-Mart going to do to law firms that don't comply with their DEMANDS? Sue them? Bwahahahahahaha!

[SauronOfMordor]

Walmart is far from the first big company to do this. Others long ago had firms filling out paperwork listing women and minorities. Sadly this is all nonsense for publicity sake.

A few years back, I had a job doing software to do statistical analysis of risk/return of minority-run mutual funds. The firm that wanted it done did consulting work for municipal pension funds that had a mandate to put a certain percentage of their money in the care of women/minority-owned firms

I don't remember the exact numbers I found, but there was a SIGNIFICANTLY worse rate of return from minority-run fund managers.