Thompson Coburn signs on for Mansfield 5.0 to expand diversity and equity in Big Law

Thompson Coburn is one of 160 firms in the United States and Canada that will participate in the Mansfield Rule 5.0 Certification process launching July 15, 2021. This year, Mansfield Rule participation has grown by 85% with more than 45 new firms and an expansion into the UK.

The goal of the Mansfield Rule is to boost the representation of historically underrepresented lawyers in law firm leadership. Now entering its fifth year, the Mansfield Rule has become the standard by which law firms track and measure that they have affirmatively considered at 30% women, lawyers from underrepresented racial/ethnic groups, lawyers with disabilities, and LGBTQ+ lawyers for top leadership roles, senior-level lateral hiring, promotions into the equity partnership, and participation in client pitch meetings.

In 2020, Thompson Coburn was one of just 65 Mansfield 3.0 certified firms that achieved “Plus” status, meaning that in addition to meeting or exceeding the baseline requirements, we successfully reached at least 30 percent diverse lawyer representation in a notable number of current leadership roles. For example, at Thompson Coburn, 30% of our practice group leaders are diverse and 40% of our office managing partners and Management Committee members are diverse. 

Norma Jackson, Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer, is an advisory board member for Diversity Lab, which determined Mansfield 5.0 standards for promoting diversity in law firm hiring, promotions and governance.

“Under the national banner of the Mansfield Rule, law firms across the country have made historic strides in expanding diversity, inclusion and equity efforts,” said Norma. “We are seeing new faces and hearing new voices in law firm leadership. I’m proud of the results achieved so far, and thrilled to see what our legal community will achieve as part of Mansfield 5.0.”

The Mansfield Rule is named after Arabella Mansfield, the first woman admitted to the practice of law in the United States. It traces its origin to the 2016 Women in Law Hackathon hosted by Diversity Lab in collaboration with Bloomberg Law and Stanford Law School.