Partners Lisa Blatt and Luke McCloud were featured in The Washington Post’s article “Historically Diverse Supreme Court Hears Disproportionately from White Lawyers” published on October 30, 2022.  The publication found that of the 374 lawyers who have argued before the high court since 2017, nearly 81 percent are White, and 62 percent are White men.  Only 2.3% are Black.  Partner Lisa Blatt decried this “appalling disparity” during a speech at Georgetown Law earlier this year, noting “[t]he numbers won’t change until we act instead of just talk.”  Partner Luke McCloud, who is Black, addressed the importance of a more diverse Supreme Court bar, stating “[t]hat’s ultimately what we do as lawyers — tell stories and get people to try to relate to them and understand our perspective.”  Luke spoke about the case he argued before the Court last Term, Concepcion v. United States, which concerned sentencing for drug crimes. “The vast majority of the people affected by the law were Black men,” Luke said. “And so I think that having the opportunity to be a voice for those Black men in an environment where there’s not many Black men to begin with was a real honor — and hopefully an opportunity that more diverse attorneys will get, especially when it comes to matters that affect diverse individuals in our country disproportionately.”

Lisa serves as Chair of Williams & Connolly’s Supreme Court and Appellate practice. She has argued 43 cases before the United States Supreme Court, prevailing in 37*. The National Law Journal has called her a "visionary" and one of “the 100 most influential lawyers in America.”

Luke is an experienced appellate advocate. He has argued in the U.S. Supreme Court and multiple federal courts of appeals, and has filed dozens of briefs in high-stakes cases throughout the federal system. In 2022, Luke was recognized as a Rising Star by Law360 and The National Law Journal and among Bloomberg Law’s “40 Under 40” list.

Click here to read the full article. 

*All cases vary and none are predictive.