Biglaw

The List Of Biglaw Firms At Least Trying To Care About Diversity

Congratulations to the firms that are working to make the legal profession a little more diverse.

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Year two of Mansfield certification has rolled around and it’s time to check in and see which firms have made a commitment to diversity. For those of you who might not be tracking the initiative, a brief history lesson.

In 2017, the idea was formed at a Diversity Lab event to really hold Biglaw firms accountable for their lofty diversity goals. Modeled after the NFL’s Rooney Rule, which requires teams to interview a minority candidate for head coach or general manager vacancies, the idea — first proposed by a team of Biglaw lawyers represented at the event by Mark Helm, a partner at Munger, Tolles & Olson — was to create a system to encourage Biglaw firms to consider women or minority candidates for leadership roles at the firm. The rule — named for Arabella Mansfield, the first woman admitted to practice law in the U.S. — asks firms to consider two or more candidates who are women, LGBTQ+, or attorneys of color when hiring for leadership and governance roles, promotions to equity partner, and hiring lateral attorneys. To be considered “Mansfield Certified” by Diversity Lab, a firm needs to show that 30 percent of the candidate pool for these positions are diverse.

For this second year of the certification process, Diversity Lab has added LGBTQ+ to its diverse designations, and in next year’s list, they plan to include disability into their definition of diversity. And they’re reportedly pushing to become increasingly more diverse as the Mansfield Rule ages:

“Our plan is to raise the bar each year,” said Lisa Kirby, Diversity Lab chief intelligence and knowledge sharing officer, in a statement. “It’s especially meaningful to lead this initiative this year because it marks the 150th anniversary of Arabella Mansfield’s becoming the first woman admitted to a U.S. bar association.”

Last year, the inaugural list of Mansfield Certified firms had 41 entries, though an additional 50 claimed to be in the process of obtaining certification. This year’s list sees 64 firms claim their certification:

Akerman
Arnold & Porter*
Baker Botts*
Baker McKenzie*
Beveridge & Diamond*
Blank Rome*
Brinks Gilson & Lione*
Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck
Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner*
Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney*
Clifford Chance
Cooley*
Covington*
Crowell & Moring
Day Pitney*
Dechert*
Dentons*
DLA Piper*
Dorsey & Whitney*
Drinker Biddle & Reath*
Eversheds Sutherland*
Faegre Baker Daniels*
Fasken
Fenwick & West Neal*
Finnegan*
Fish & Richardson*
Foley & Mansfield
Neal Gerber Eisenberg
Goodwin*
Goulston & Storrs*
Hogan Lovell*
Holland & Hart*
Holland & Knight*
Husch Blackwell*
Jenner & Block*
Katten
Kaufman Dolowich & Voluck
Latham & Watkins*
Littler Mendelson*
McDermott Will & Emery*
Merchant & Goul
Miller Canfield*
Morgan Lewis*
Morris, Manning & Martin*
Morrison & Foerster*
Munger, Tolles & Olson*
Nixon Peabody*
Norton Rose Fulbright*
O’Melveny & Myers*
Orrick*
Pepper Hamilton
Reed Smith*
Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr*
Schiff Hardin*
Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis*
Seyfarth Shaw
Sheppard Mullin*
Steptoe*
Stoel Rives*
White & Case*
WilmerHale*
Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati*
Winston & Strawn*
Womble Bond Dickinson

The firms with the * designation have achieved Certified Plus status, which means they have at least 30 percent diverse lawyer representation in a notable number of their current leadership roles and committees.

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Already 99 firms have signed up to be considered for next year’s certification process. And five firms — Eversheds Sutherland, Hogan Lovells, Holland & Hart, Miller Canfield, and Stoel Rives —  are piloting a new program to track individual demographic groups.

Congratulations to the firms that are working to make the legal profession a little more diverse.

headshotKathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, and host of The Jabot podcast. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).

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