Seyfarth Earns Mansfield Certified ‘Plus’ Rating from Diversity Lab

Seyfarth Shaw LLP announced today that it has earned Mansfield Certification Plus from Diversity Lab after completing the inaugural one-year Mansfield Rule pilot. The Mansfield Rule Certification measures whether law firms have affirmatively considered at least 30 percent women and attorneys of color for leadership and governance roles, equity partner promotions, and senior lateral positions. “Plus” status indicates that, in addition to meeting or exceeding the pipeline consideration requirements for Certification, Seyfarth has also successfully reached at least 30 percent women and minority lawyer representation in a notable number of its current leadership roles and committees.

Named after Arabella Mansfield, the first woman admitted to the practice of law in the United States, the Mansfield Rule is a variation of the NFL’s “Rooney Rule.” 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 opportunities.

“Building on our own early adoption of the Rooney Rule, it’s been exciting to accelerate our efforts through the Mansfield Rule pilot as the industry works together to drive progress forward,” said Pete Miller, chair and managing partner of Seyfarth Shaw. “As momentum grows, we are excited to expand our work with Diversity Lab to advance the diversity of our organization and the broader legal profession.”

As part of Seyfarth’s commitment to diversity and inclusion and its focus on continuous improvement in this area, the firm has agreed to participate in the 2.0 iteration of the Mansfield Rule, which runs from July 2018 to July 2019, with 65 law firms. New for this version, Mansfield 2.0 will include LGBTQ+ lawyers as well as women and attorneys of color as part of the diverse candidate pool. Also new, in addition to leadership role appointments and lateral hiring, Mansfield 2.0 will also measure consideration for roles in client pitch meetings and will ask participating law firms to make appointment and election processes transparent to all lawyers in their firms. Learn more about Mansfield Certification here.