Winston Piloting ‘Mansfield Rule’ to Boost Diversity in Leadership Ranks

Winston & Strawn is one of 30 law firms partnering with Diversity Lab to spearhead the Mansfield Rule, an initiative born out of the 2016 Women in Law Hackathon, a live shark-tank style pitch competition aimed to generate innovative ideas to close the gender gap.

The Mansfield Rule, named after Arabella Mansfield, the first woman admitted to practice law in the United States, measures whether law firms have affirmatively considered women and attorneys of color for leadership and governance roles, equity partner promotions, and lateral positions. The goal is that at least 30 percent of candidate pools will be comprised of women and minority groups. Successful implementation of the Mansfield Rule over the next year will earn law firms a “Mansfield Certified” designation and the opportunity to send recently promoted diverse partners to a two-day Client Forum in late 2018 to build relationships with and learn from influential in-house counsel.