
SAN FRANCISCO, May 5, 2022 — Diversity Lab announced that Drew Eckl & Farnham was one of 26 midsize law firms that have achieved the inaugural Midsize Mansfield Rule Certification. These certified firms have completed a rigorous 18-month collaboration with Diversity Lab — beginning in September 2020 — to track, consider, measure, and achieve diversity in leadership.
Designed to expand on the early successes of the original Mansfield Rule piloted in 2017 with larger firms, the Midsize Mansfield Rule Certification measures whether law firms with approximately 25 to 150 lawyers have affirmatively considered at least 30 percent women lawyers, underrepresented racial and ethnic lawyers, LGBTQ+ lawyers, and lawyers with disabilities for hiring opportunities, leadership and governance roles, equity partner promotions, and formal client pitch opportunities. While working to achieve these benchmarks, midsize firms embedded internal transparency through the establishment of leadership role descriptions and clearly defined leadership appointment and/or election processes. Knowledge sharing is also an integral pillar of Mansfield Rule participation. As part of this foundational element, the certified midsize firms shared best practices and lessons learned with each other throughout the process.
Drew Eckl & Farnham, alongside 15 other Certified Midsize Mansfield firms, have also achieved Certification “Plus” status, which indicates that, in addition to meeting or exceeding the consideration requirements, the firms have successfully achieved 30 percent diverse representation in current leadership roles, formal client pitches, and staffing on key matters.
Similar to the original iteration of the Mansfield Rule, firms that successfully certify under the Midsize Mansfield Rule criteria will have the opportunity to send their newly promoted historically underrepresented partners to the Mansfield Rule Client Forums in 2023 to build relationships with and learn from Diversity Lab’s in-house counsel collaborators. To date, more than 80 legal departments have contributed to or hosted Client Forums, including Bloomberg L.P., Fannie Mae, Ford Motor Co., Gap Inc., Google, MassMutual, McDonald’s Corporation, Netflix, PayPal, Pfizer, Starbucks, Takeda Pharmaceuticals, Transamerica, Uber Technologies Inc., ViacomCBS, and Walgreen Co.
For more information on Diversity Lab and its Midsize Mansfield Rule Certification, click the link below.
Diversity Lab is an incubator for innovative ideas and solutions that boost diversity and inclusion in law. Experimental ideas are created through our Hackathons and piloted in collaboration with more than 250 top law firms and legal departments across the country. Diversity Lab leverages data, behavioral science, design thinking, and technology to further develop and test new ideas and research, measure the results, and share the lessons learned.
Our commitment to promoting and encouraging diversity is illustrated by policies, initiatives, and programs established across offices, including efforts in recruiting, training and retention. Our firm-supported affinity groups include those who self-identify as or are allied with African American lawyers, Hispanic lawyers, Asian lawyers, LGBTQ+ lawyers, Women lawyers, and working parents. Not only is diversity extremely important to the firm but also to the clients we are selected by and have sustained long term relationships with over the past 30 years.