Goodwin achieved Diversity Lab’s Mansfield 2.0 Plus Certification after completing the Mansfield Rule 2.0 twelve-month certification program.
The Mansfield Rule Certification 2.0 attests that Goodwin affirmatively considered at least 30 percent women, lawyers of color, and LGBTQ+ lawyers for leadership and governance roles, equity partner promotions, formal client pitch opportunities and senior lateral positions. “Plus” status indicates that, in addition to meeting or exceeding the pipeline consideration requirements for Certification, Goodwin successfully reached at least 30 percent diverse lawyer representation in a notable number of their current leadership roles and committees.
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. As part of the 2.0 version, Diversity Lab expanded the Mansfield Rule to include representation of LGBTQ+ lawyers, in addition to women and racial/ethnic minorities, as part of the candidate population and to also track the participation of historically underrepresented lawyers in formal pitch meetings. To achieve the Mansfield Rule objectives, Goodwin established processes to document and analyze the firm’s talent pipelines.
This marks Goodwin’s second consecutive year of Mansfield Rule Certification, which was first issued in 2018. Goodwin also signed on to the 3.0 iteration of the Mansfield Rule, which runs from July 2019 to July 2020. New for this version, Mansfield 3.0 will include lawyers with disabilities as well as women, lawyers of color, and LGBTQ+ lawyers as part of the diverse candidate pool.
Diversity Lab is an incubator for innovative ideas and solutions that boost diversity and inclusion in law. Experimental ideas like the Mansfield Rule are created through hackathons and piloted in collaboration with more than 100 top law firms and legal departments across the country.
Goodwin partners with Diversity Lab on several diversity and inclusion initiatives. The firm participates in Diversity Lab’s OnRamp Fellowship program, which provides a platform for women lawyers to re-enter the legal profession after stepping away from the practice of law for a period of time. Goodwin also placed among the top ten highest scoring firms in Diversity Lab’s Inclusion Blueprint Survey, which measures gender diversity in law firm leadership as well as the work experiences of women at the practice group level, with a particular focus on intellectual property.
Learn more about Goodwin’s Diversity + Inclusion efforts here.