Boston, MA. Nixon Peabody is proud to have achieved Mansfield Certification Plus, indicating the firm’s candidate pool for leadership and governance roles, equity partner promotions, and senior lateral positions includes at least 30% women, lawyers of color and LGBTQ+ attorneys—and also that the firm has achieved the 30% goal across the majority of categories.
The goal of the Mansfield Rule is to boost representation of diverse lawyers in firm leadership roles by broadening the pool of candidates considered for these opportunities. Of the 64 firms selected for Mansfield Certification in 2019 , Nixon Peabody was part of a smaller group to also achieve the “Plus” rating.
The most recent Mansfield Certification comes two years after Diversity Lab, an incubator of innovative ideas to increase diversity and inclusion in the legal industry, launched the inaugural pilot. As part of this year’s 2.0 version, Diversity Lab expanded the Mansfield Rule to include representation of LGBTQ+ lawyers, in addition to women and racial/ethnic minorities.
“Diversity and inclusion reside at the heart of our firm’s top priorities,” said Andrew Glincher, Nixon Peabody CEO and managing partner. “Actions speak louder than words, and it makes me incredibly proud that this certification validates our efforts to date.”
Nixon Peabody has received Mansfield Certification Plus ratings the past two years, underscoring the firm’s passionate commitment to diversity and inclusion. Notably, Nixon Peabody has also earned a 100% rating by the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index for 13 consecutive years.
“We continue to make significant strides in diversity and inclusion, but we don’t rest on our laurels,” said Nixon Peabody director of Diversity & Inclusion Rekha Chiruvolu. “In addition to our internal efforts to increase minority representation, we’ll continue working with outside organizations to promote greater diversity in the broader legal profession.”
Nixon Peabody is one of 99 law firms already signed up to participate in Diversity Lab’s Mansfield 3.0 initiative, running from July 2019 to July 2020. This upcoming version of the Mansfield Rule will include attorneys with disabilities in addition to women, lawyers of color, and LGBTQ+ attorneys.
Mansfield Certification pays tribute to Arabella Mansfield—the first woman admitted in the United States to practice law—and was inspired by the NFL’s Rooney Rule, which saw minority representation in head-coach roles double in the years after its implementation.