Littler Mendelson P.C. issued the following announcement on Sept. 3.
Littler, the world’s largest employment and labor law practice representing management, has earned Mansfield Certification Plus from Diversity Lab after completing the Mansfield Rule 2.0 twelve-month certification program. The firm achieved Certified Plus status for the second consecutive year by considering and attaining at least 30 percent women, lawyers of color, and LGBTQ+ lawyers across leadership and governance roles, equity partner promotions, formal client pitch opportunities, and senior lateral positions.
“We are proud to once again earn the Mansfield certification from Diversity Lab,” said Tom Bender and Jeremy Roth, co-managing directors of Littler. “Our firm is comprised of a diverse mix of individuals whose backgrounds and experiences make us a better and stronger firm. It has been a privilege to work with Diversity Lab on this important initiative, and we look forward to our continued partnership.”
The Mansfield Rule was one of the winning ideas from the 2016 Women in Law Hackathon hosted by Diversity Lab in collaboration with Bloomberg Law and Stanford Law School. Named after Arabella Mansfield, the first woman admitted to the practice of law in the U.S., 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.
Littler was one of nearly 50 firms that partnered with Diversity Lab to pilot the inaugural version of the Mansfield Rule from summer 2017 through mid-2018 and participated in the Mansfield Rule 2.0 over the past year. The firm will take part in Mansfield 3.0 through July 2020, which will include lawyers with disabilities as well as women, lawyers of color, and LGBTQ+ lawyers as part of the diverse candidate pool.
“Our plan is to raise the bar each year,” said Lisa Kirby, Chief Intelligence & Knowledge Sharing Officer at Diversity Lab. “We follow design thinking principles, so we measure results each year and work with participating firms to iterate the pilot based on the results to ensure we are moving toward our goal of diversifying law firm leadership as inclusively and impactfully as possible. It’s especially meaningful to lead this initiative this year because it marks the 150th anniversary of Arabella Mansfield’s becoming the first woman admitted to a U.S. bar association."
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