Womble Bond Dickinson once again has successfully completed a 12-month legal industry program to promote greater diversity, equity and inclusion, earning Mansfield Rule 5.0 Certification Plus status. This is the fourth consecutive year the firm has earned Mansfield Rule Certification.
Mansfield aims to increase and sustain diversity in leadership within law firms by broadening the pool of women lawyers, LGBTQIA+ lawyers, lawyers with disabilities, and underrepresented racial and/or ethnic lawyers who are considered for senior lateral attorney job openings, firm governance opportunities, equity partner promotions, and firm leadership positions. Participating law firms also must create and publish job descriptions and appointment/election policies for leadership roles.
Firms collect and report this data to the Diversity Lab, which administers the Mansfield Rule. Mansfield 5.0 Certified firms are those at which at least 30 percent of candidates for the aforementioned positions come from underrepresented lawyer groups. Certification Plus status is achieved by firms that not only took deliberate steps to expand the list of those considered for leadership positions within our organization, but also achieved diverse representation in key leadership positions during this past year.
"It takes a lot of work for firms to make even incremental changes to long-standing systems, and it is an absolute honor for the Diversity Lab team to see what these firms have achieved over the course of the year-long certification cycle. The firms enthusiastically engaged with Mansfield's rigorous challenges while sharing learnings with each other to ensure a collective 'win.' Every Certified and Certified Plus firm should take great pride in this hard-earned accomplishment!"
The project also provides opportunities for firms to learn collaboratively and share best practices related to promoting diversity and inclusion.
"It takes a lot of work for firms to make even incremental changes to long-standing systems, and it is an absolute honor for the Diversity Lab team to see what these firms have achieved over the course of the year-long certification cycle," said Kavita Ramakrishnan, Diversity Lab's Mansfield Rule and Knowledge Sharing Senior Director. "The firms enthusiastically engaged with Mansfield's rigorous challenges while sharing learnings with each other to ensure a collective 'win.' Every Certified and Certified Plus firm should take great pride in this hard-earned accomplishment!"
In addition to receiving Mansfield Rule 5.0 Certification Plus, Womble Bond Dickinson announced in August that the firm is participating in the Mansfield Rule 6.0 project. Results from Mansfield 6.0 will be reported in late 2023.
