Press Release
September 18, 2019

Goodwin Sets Bold Diversity and Inclusion Goals as Part of Diversity Lab’s Move the Needle Fund

Firm Also Achieves Mansfield Rule 2.0 Plus Certification

Global law firm Goodwin announced today its goals as part of Diversity Lab’s just-launched Move the Needle Fund. The initiative is a large-scale effort designed to create a first-of-its-kind joint venture in which bold new approaches to diversity and inclusion will be incubated over five years to serve as a model for the legal industry. Goodwin’s Move the Needle goals are as follows:

By January 2025:

  1. The diversity of (i) Goodwin’s senior associate population and (ii) its population of partners and equity partners elevated in the preceding five years will match or exceed its entry-level associate diversity, which will be consistent with or greater than the diversity of graduating law student classes, as measured on January 1, 2020, by gender, race/ethnicity, and LGBTQ identity.

  2. The collective composition of all firm leadership committees will be at least 40% diverse.

In all our efforts to enhance diversity, inclusion, and equity, we remain committed to equal opportunity for all our people.

“We are proud to partner with Diversity Lab, more than two dozen general counsel, a cohort of community leaders and fellow participating law firms on this trailblazing initiative to move the needle on diversity and inclusion,” said David Hashmall, Goodwin’s Chairman who, together with Rob Insolia, Chairman-Elect, will lead the firm’s work with the initiative. “As part of this joint venture, we articulated bold and ambitious goals around development, retention, advancement and leadership that we know will help us make significant strides in fostering diversity and inclusion within our firm. We look forward to working with Diversity Lab and the Move the Needle community on achieving our collective goals.”   

In order to achieve its goals, Goodwin will deepen and strengthen its existing initiatives, including CRED@Goodwin, Pride@Goodwin, Women@Goodwin, and Inclusion@Goodwin, among others. The firm will also develop new research-based initiatives in collaboration with Diversity Lab and the Move the Needle members. Goodwin will measure the outcomes of each of these initiatives and will share results publicly.

For additional information about the Move the Needle initiative and its goals, please listen to the latest episode of Goodwin’s Perspectives podcast, in which David Hashmall interviews Diversity Lab’s founder Caren Ulrich Stacy.

Goodwin has partnered with Diversity Lab on a number of programs, including the adoption of and subsequent certification for the Mansfield Rule, designed to boost the representation of diverse lawyers in law firm leadership by broadening the pool of candidates considered for these opportunities.

After successfully completing the inaugural one-year Mansfield Rule pilot and achieving Mansfield Certification last year, Goodwin signed on to Mansfield 2.0, which broadened the obligations of participating firms and expanded the initiative to include LGBTQ+ metrics. The firm recently achieved Mansfield Certification for a second time. Diversity Lab also named Goodwin a “Mansfield Certified Plus” firm in recognition of its achievement of at least 30% diversity in at least 50% of the Mansfield 2.0 leadership categories.