Firm continues to demonstrate industry leadership for representation of women, minorities, and LGBTQ+ lawyers in leadership roles
SAN FRANCISCO (September 3, 2019) – Morrison & Foerster, a leading global law firm, is pleased to announce that for the second year in a row the firm has achieved "Mansfield Certification Plus" as a result of successfully reaching at least 30 percent women, minority, and LGBTQ+ lawyer representation in a notable number of current leadership roles and committees. The Mansfield Certification is administered by Diversity Lab, an incubator for innovative ideas and solutions that boost diversity and inclusion in law.
"I am proud that Morrison & Foerster was an early adopter of the Mansfield Rule and that we continue to achieve the highest level of certification that Diversity Lab offers in the program," said Larren M. Nashelsky, Chair of Morrison & Foerster. "Diversity and inclusion have long been core values of our firm and we are pleased to have created a model for others to follow."
MoFo was one of 44 of the country's leading law firms that joined Diversity Lab's pilot program of the Mansfield Rule from mid-2017 to mid-2018. The Mansfield 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. The Mansfield Certification initially measured whether law firms had affirmatively considered at least 30 percent women and lawyers of color for leadership and governance roles, equity partner promotions, and senior lateral positions.
In the inaugural year of the program MoFo achieved Mansfield Certification Plus status, indicating that not only had the firm exceeded the candidate pipeline consideration requirements to participate in the program, but had also successfully reached at least 30 percent women and minority lawyer representation in a notable number of leadership roles and committees.
Version 2.0 of the program, which ran from mid-2018 to mid-2019, saw an increase to 65 participating firms and expanded the rule to include LGBTQ+ lawyers for candidate consideration and leadership positions in addition to women and lawyers of color. MoFo again exceeded the pipeline consideration and current leadership position requirements to achieve 2.0 Certification Plus. The firm will also participate in Mansfield 3.0, which includes lawyers with disabilities in the populations considered.