Polsinelli PC issued the following announcement on Oct. 27.
Am Law 100 firm Polsinelli is proud to announce it has achieved the Mansfield Rule 3.0 Certification, which measures diversity in law firms and aims to boost diversity in leadership.
The 3.0 Mansfield Rule Certification, owned and hosted by Diversity Lab, measures whether law firms have affirmatively considered women, attorneys of color, LGBTQ+ attorneys, and attorneys with disabilities for recruitment, governance roles, equity partner promotions, and inclusion in formal pitches to clients. Certification is granted to firms with at least 30 percent of the candidate pool represented in these categories.
“The firm’s participation in the Mansfield Rule Certification process is one element of our multi-faceted plan to move the needle on diversity, equity and inclusion,” said Polsinelli Chairman and CEO Chase Simmons. “We are reiterating our longstanding commitment to building and supporting a diverse, equitable and inclusive firm. We strive to set an example for our clients, partners, vendors and organizations we work with.”
Polsinelli completed a 12-month program to achieve the 3.0 Mansfield Rule Certification. According to Diversity Lab, 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 roles and opportunities.
“This certification is an important part of our firm-wide diversity and inclusion efforts, and it reflects our commitment to ensuring this firm is leading by example with our progressive and inclusive policies,” said Health Care Alignment and Organizations Practice Chair and St. Louis Office Managing Partner Jane Arnold, who serves as Chair of Polsinelli’s Women’s Empowerment Committee. “As a result of our efforts, I am proud that we continue to increase our representation of women, attorneys of color and LGBTQ+ attorneys in our talent pipeline and in leadership positions.”
Diversity and inclusion are core values of Polsinelli, used to inform, enlighten and shape strategy and actions that define the firm’s business. Polsinelli defines diversity to include people from various ethnic, religious, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability and socio-economic backgrounds. The firm defines inclusion as the comprehensive, coordinated and complete integration of all persons across the various sectors of its business enterprise as contributors, leaders and agents of change.
“We are incredibly proud of these firms that remained steadfastly focused on inclusivity through the Mansfield Rule as the pandemic and its implications disrupted so many business processes,” said Lisa Kirby, Chief Intelligence & Knowledge Sharing Officer at Diversity Lab in a Sept. 15, 2020 release. “And the shattering examples of racial injustice we’ve witnessed this summer caused many firms to further deepen their commitment to taking direct action to equalize the playing field in law firm leadership.”
Original source can be found here.