Biglaw

100 Biglaw Firms Putting Diversity On The Front Burner

Biglaw is working on its diversity problem.

By  
on

Everyone knows diversity is a worthwhile goal, but the actual process of getting there can be fraught. One mechanism to encourage diversity in the legal sphere that has gotten a lot of traction is the Mansfield certification process.

For those who might not be tracking, the idea was formed in 2017, 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 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.

“The goal of the Mansfield Rule is to boost the representation of diverse lawyers in law firm leadership by broadening the pool of candidates considered for these roles and opportunities,” Diversity Lab said in a news release. “Firms participating in the Mansfield Rule are making great strides in diversifying their leadership.”

And the statistics seem to reflect those ideals. As reported by Law.com, those firms that have dedicated themselves to the principle of diversity are seeing a real change in the composition of their leadership:

Among the firms that participated in the program all three years, 65% said they have appointed or elected more underrepresented attorneys to their management or executive committees than they did before Mansfield. Around 63% of firms said they have increased the number of underrepresented attorneys promoted into equity partnership.

There also appears to be a correlation between the number of years participating and firms’ success in promoting racial minorities and women. For example, law firms that have participated for only two years saw just a 55% increase in underrepresented attorneys elected to management.

On the inaugural list of Mansfield Certified firms there were 42 entries, and last year 64 firms could claim certification. This year, we see another upward tick, with 100 firms now Mansfield 3.0 Certified. And next year looks bright as well — 117 firms have already signed up for the Mansfield 4.0 process.

So, which firms are now Mansfield certified? Here are the 100 firms — and those with an asterisk are Mansfield Plus certified, which means the firm’s leadership roles are at least 30 percent racial minorities or women.

Sponsored

Akerman

Frost Brown Todd

Nutter McClennen & Fish

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld*

Goodwin Procter*

Sponsored

O’Melveny & Myers*

Allen & Overy*

Goulston & Storrs*

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe*

Archer & Greiner

Greenberg Traurig

Paul Hastings*

Arent Fox

Haynes and Boone

Perkins Coie*

Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer *

Hoagland, Longo, Moran, Dunst & Doukas

Polsinelli

Baker Botts*

Hogan Lovells*

Porter Wright Morris & Arthur*

Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz*

Holland & Hart*

Procopio, Cory, Hargreaves & Savitch

Baker McKenzie*

Holland & Knight*

Reed Smith*

Beveridge & Diamond*

Hunton Andrews Kurth*

Robins Kaplan

Blank Rome*

Husch Blackwell*

Robinson & Cole

Boies Schiller Flexner

Jackson Lewis*

Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr

Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck*

Jenner & Block*

Schiff Hardin*

Brown Rudnick

Katten Muchin Rosenman

Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis*

Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner*

Kaufman Dolowich & Voluck

Severson & Werson

Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney*

Kean Miller

Seyfarth Shaw*

Clifford Chance

Kutak Rock*

Shearman & Sterling

Cooley*

Latham & Watkins*

Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton*

Covington & Burling*

Littler Mendelson*

Shipman & Goodwin*

Cozen O’Connor

Locke Lord

Stinson Leonard Street*

Crowell & Moring

Manning Gross + Massenburg*

Stoel Rives*

Davis Wright Tremaine*

McDermott Will & Emery

Stoll Keenon Ogden

Day Pitney*

McGuireWoods*

Taft Stettinius & Hollister*

Dechert*

Merchant & Gould

Thompson Coburn*

Dentons*

Miller Canfield*

Thompson Hine

DLA Piper*

Miller Nash Graham & Dunn*

Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders*

Dorsey & Whitney*

Morgan, Lewis & Bockius*

White & Case*

Eversheds Sutherland*

Morris, Manning & Martin*

Williams & Connolly

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath*

Morrison & Foerster*

Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr*

Fenwick & West*

Much Shelist

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati*

Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner*

Munger, Tolles & Olson*

Winston & Strawn*

Fish & Richardson

Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg

Womble Bond Dickinson*

Foley & Mansfield

Nixon Peabody*

Fredrikson & Byron*

Norton Rose Fulbright*

Congrats to the firms on the list — and we look forward to it being even longer next year.

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).

Topics

, , ,