Seyfarth Earns Mansfield 4.0 Certification Plus from Diversity Lab

Seyfarth announced today that it has again earned Mansfield Certification Plus from Diversity Lab after completing the Mansfield Rule 4.0 12-month certification program.

The Mansfield Rule Certification measures whether law firms have affirmatively considered at least 30 percent women, underrepresented racial/ethnic groups, LGBTQ+ lawyers, and lawyers with disabilities for leadership and governance roles, equity partner promotions, formal client pitch opportunities, and senior lateral positions. Mansfield Certification Plus status indicates that, in addition to meeting or exceeding the baseline certification requirements, the firms have successfully reached at least 30 percent underrepresented lawyer representation in a notable number of their current leadership roles.

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.

“It’s an honor to once again earn Mansfield Certification Plus from Diversity Lab,” said Kori S. Carew, Esq., Seyfarth’s chief inclusion & diversity officer. “This is an important achievement for the firm that acknowledges our committed path to a more inclusive and diverse workplace. As a leader in the legal community, Seyfarth continues to implement new initiatives and reinvest in the groundbreaking programs that have made real progress for the profession.”

As part of Seyfarth’s commitment to inclusion and diversity and its focus on continuous improvement in this area, the firm announced in June that it has agreed to participate in the 5.0 iteration of the Mansfield Rule, which runs from July 2021 to July 2022. Piloting the Mansfield Rule since its 2017 inception, Seyfarth joins other “early adopter” firms that have increased the racial and ethnic diversity of its management committees by 30 times the rate of non-Mansfield Rule firms. Notably, over 70 percent of Seyfarth’s executive committee are lawyers from underrepresented groups.

A recognized industry leader in law firm inclusion and diversity, Seyfarth created The Belonging Project, a first-of-its-kind nationwide collaborative initiative to proactively combat the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on inclusion and diversity in the profession. The firm launched its own “Rooney Presumption” initiative in 2016 which, inspired by the NFL, has helped improve the hiring of diverse candidates across the firm. Within its inaugural year, Seyfarth nearly doubled the number of new minority associates in its Labor & Employment department. 

The Mansfield Rule was one of the winning ideas from the 2016 Women in Law Hackathon. Seyfarth was an active participant in the Hackathon which was hosted by Diversity Lab in collaboration with Bloomberg Law and Stanford Law School. Diversity Lab creates and experiments with innovative ways to close the gender gap and boost diversity in law firms and legal departments by leveraging data, behavioral science, and design thinking. To learn more about Mansfield 4.0 Certification click here.