Womble Bond Dickinson once again has completed a rigorous 12-month program to promote greater law firm diversity, equity and inclusion, earning Mansfield Rule 4.0 Certification.

The goal of the Mansfield Rule is to boost the representation of historically underrepresented lawyers in law firm leadership by broadening the pool of candidates considered for these opportunities. The project uses objective hiring and promotions metrics to evaluate participating firms and promote greater inclusion.

The goal of the program is to ensure that at least 30 percent of the candidate pool for leadership and governance roles, equity partner promotions, formal client pitch opportunities, and senior lateral positions consists of women, underrepresented racial/ethnic groups, LGBTQ+ lawyers, and lawyers with disabilities. Participating firms collect and report this data to the Diversity Lab, which administers the Mansfield Rule. Mansfield 4.0 Certified firms are those that met or exceeded the 30 percent underrepresented lawyer goal for candidates considered for the aforementioned positions.

The project also provides opportunities for firms to learn collaboratively and share best practices related to promoting diversity and inclusion.

In addition to receiving Mansfield Rule 4.0 Certification, Womble Bond Dickinson announced in June that the firm is participating in the Mansfield Rule 5.0 project.

The number of law firms participating in this project has grown from 42 in the first cohort to more than 160 in Mansfield 5.0. Results from Mansfield 5.0 will be reported in the summer of 2022.