Press Release
September 13, 2021

Goodwin Achieves Diversity Lab’s Mansfield Rule 4.0 Certification

Goodwin achieved Diversity Lab’s Mansfield 4.0 Certification after completing a twelve-month certification program.

The Mansfield Rule Certification 4.0 attests that Goodwin affirmatively considered at least 30 percent women, underrepresented racial/ethnic groups, LGBTQ+ lawyers, and lawyers with disabilities for leadership and governance roles, equity partner promotions, formal client pitch opportunities, and senior lateral positions.

This marks Goodwin’s fourth consecutive year of Mansfield Rule Certification, which was first issued to the firm in 2018. The goal of the Mansfield Rule is to boost the representation of diverse lawyers in law firm leadership by broadening the pool of candidates considered for these roles and opportunities.

Goodwin also signed on to the next iteration of the Mansfield Rule, 5.0 certification. New for this version, Diversity Lab expands the criteria to ensure that firms:

  • Track their candidate pools in a disaggregated manner, prompting them to measure the impact of the Mansfield Rule by each underrepresented group;
  • Include an option for Middle Eastern/North African identity, a demographic often overlooked by current self-identification options;
  • Consider at least 30% underrepresented lawyers for nominations to Chambers USA to increase the external visibility of underrepresented lawyers with clients and in the marketplace more broadly; and
  • Consider 30% underrepresented individuals when hiring and promoting C-level or other senior-level professional staff roles.

Diversity Lab is an incubator for innovative ideas and solutions that boost diversity and inclusion in law. Experimental ideas like the Mansfield Rule are created through hackathons and piloted in collaboration with more than 100 top law firms and legal departments across the country.

Goodwin partners with Diversity Lab on several diversity and inclusion initiatives. The firm participates in Diversity Lab’s OnRamp Fellowship program, which provides a platform for women lawyers to re-enter the legal profession after stepping away from the practice of law for a period of time. Goodwin also placed among the top ten highest scoring firms in Diversity Lab’s 2018 Inclusion Blueprint Survey, which measures gender diversity in law firm leadership as well as the work experiences of women at the practice group level, with a particular focus on intellectual property.

Learn more about Goodwin’s Diversity, Equity + Inclusion efforts.