Husch Blackwell is pleased to announce that it has achieved the Mansfield Certification Plus designation for the fourth consecutive year.
To receive Mansfield Certification, law firms must consider at least 30% historically underrepresented lawyers—including women lawyers, underrepresented racial and ethnic lawyers, LGBTQ+ lawyers, and lawyers with disabilities—when promoting or appointing to leadership roles, among a dozen other actions that focus on the path to leadership. Firms must also consider 30 percent underrepresented talent for C-suite roles. Husch Blackwell was awarded a “Plus” distinction for the fourth year in a row indicating 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.
The Mansfield Rule is a year-long certification process led by Diversity Lab, an incubator for innovative ideas and solutions that boost diversity and inclusion in law. The program’s goal is to boost the representation of diverse lawyers in law firm leadership by broadening the pool of candidates considered for these opportunities. Diversity Lab launched the program, named for Arabella Mansfield, the first woman admitted to practice law in the United States in 1869, in 2017.