MoFo Achieves Fifth Consecutive “Mansfield Certification Plus” Status for 2022

MoFo has once again achieved “Mansfield Certification Plus” status for 2022, joining a select group of firms to receive the honor every year since Diversity Lab’s launch of the Mansfield Rule in 2017. Certified Plus status indicates that we have successfully achieved at least 30% women, minority, LGBTQ+, and lawyers with disabilities representation across notable leadership roles, including within the partnership, as well as for lateral recruiting opportunities. Currently, 57% of U.S. office managing partners here at MoFo are women. In addition, 60% of U.S. members of our board of directors and 69% of our U.S. Partnership Review Committee members are diverse lawyers.

The Mansfield Rule was designed to explore new ways to increase diversity amongst the top ranks of the legal profession. The rule was named after Arabella Mansfield, the first woman admitted to practice law in the United States, and is a modified version of the NFL’s “Rooney Rule,” requiring all NFL teams to interview at least one minority candidate for head coach positions.

Mansfield Rule 5.0, a certification period of July 2021–July 2022, includes 270+ U.S. and Canadian law firms participating in the certification process. It has become a standard by which law firms track and measure the diversity of their management committees, lateral recruiting efforts, and the pools of talent from which they select emerging leaders. With the introduction of new and more challenging requirements each year, the Diversity Lab’s Mansfield Rule strives to continually move the needle forward with respect to diversity, equity, and inclusion within the legal industry.

MoFo’s “Certified Plus” status in 2022 has earned us the opportunity to send newly promoted diverse partners to Diversity Lab’s Client Forums in 2023. The Forums offer partners the chance to network with numerous legal department leaders and potential clients from major companies as well as the added benefit of organized pitch sessions for diverse partners with in-house leaders of major brand names.

MoFo has already committed to participating in Mansfield Rule 6.0, which runs from July 2022 to July 2023, and we look forward to partnering again with Diversity Lab as MoFo continues to elevate its diversity in leadership.