Manatt has joined more than 160 law firms in the Mansfield Rule 5.0 certification process, a program administered by Diversity Lab with the goal of boosting the representation of historically underrepresented lawyers in law firm leadership. According to Diversity Lab, “the Mansfield Rule has become the standard by which law firms track and measure that they have affirmatively considered at least thirty percent women, lawyers from underrepresented racial/ethnic groups, lawyers with disabilities, and LGBTQ+ lawyers for top leadership roles, senior-level lateral hiring, promotions into the equity partnership, and participation in client pitch meetings.”

In order to qualify for Mansfield Rule 5.0 certification, firms are required to:

• Track their candidate pools in a disaggregated manner, prompting them to measure the impact of the Mansfield Rule by each underrepresented group. Firms must also include an option for Middle Eastern/North African identity, a demographic often overlooked by current self-identification options.
• Consider at least 30% underrepresented lawyers for nominations to Chambers USA to increase the external visibility of underrepresented lawyers with clients and in the marketplace more broadly.
• Consider 30% underrepresented individuals when hiring and promoting C-level or other senior-level professional staff roles.

To learn more, please see Diversity Lab’s Mansfield Rule 5.0 press release here.