Blank Rome Continues Longstanding Partnership with Diversity Lab by Participating in Mansfield Rule 6.0
Blank Rome LLP is pleased to announce that our firm will again participate in Diversity Lab’s Mansfield Rule certification process. Mansfield Rule 6.0 measures whether law firms have affirmatively considered at least 30 percent historically underrepresented attorneys, including women, attorneys of color, attorneys with disabilities, and LGBTQ+ attorneys, when appointing, electing, or promoting attorneys into leadership roles and equity partnerships. Blank Rome was a pilot member of the inaugural Mansfield Rule 1.0 in June 2017, and has recommitted to each subsequent iteration, successfully reaching the outlined goals and proudly exceeding them in many areas.
“We are honored to continue participating in the Mansfield Rule program, further enhancing our longstanding partnership with Diversity Lab,” said Grant S. Palmer, Managing Partner and CEO at Blank Rome LLP. “Diversity Lab’s strategic and unique approach to diversifying leadership year over year has been impressive, and aligns with Blank Rome’s ongoing commitment to advancing diversity and inclusion at our firm and throughout the legal industry—an important mission that is rooted in our founders’ vision for our firm where people of diverse backgrounds could gather to practice law.”
Now entering its sixth year, the Mansfield Rule has become the standard by which law firms track and measure their efforts to boost diversity at their leadership levels. Mansfield Rule 6.0, which runs from July 2022 to July 2023, will include more than 180 participating law firms. As part of Mansfield Rule 6.0’s evolving certification process and expanding scope from previous iterations, participating firms will now be asked to share best practices with each other through knowledge sharing forums and continue to meet numerous check-ins, data collection, and reporting milestones throughout the certification year, in addition to other key criteria. Additionally, firms must now consider 30 percent underrepresented individuals when hiring and promoting C-level or other senior-level professional staff roles.
“Blank Rome is committed to identifying, developing, and implementing diversity and inclusion programs, policies, and initiatives that will accelerate sustainable and meaningful advancements in the legal industry, and our participation in the Mansfield Rule program directly supports these important goals,” stated Krystal Studavent Ramsey, Blank Rome’s Director of Diversity & Inclusion. “It is both encouraging and inspiring to see that so many large law firms and legal departments are now participating in the Mansfield 6.0 certification, and we look forward to knowledge sharing opportunities and continued progress at our firm and across the legal industry through this program.”
As a component of the Mansfield Rule 6.0 program, in October 2022, Diversity Lab will be hosting an in-person Knowledge Sharing Forum in San Francisco, CA, with participating law firms, legal departments, and leaders to honor the five-year anniversary of Mansfield as well as learn from and share knowledge about the dedicated efforts involved in piloting and expanding Diversity Lab’s innovative programs. To learn more, please click here.