Arnold & Porter Receives Mansfield Plus Certification for Fourth Consecutive Year for Promoting Diversity in Leadership

Arnold & Porter has again achieved Mansfield Certification after completing the twelve-month Mansfield Rule Certification 4.0 program, which measures how law firms affirmatively consider women, lawyers of color, LGBTQ+ lawyers, and lawyers with disabilities for significant leadership roles. This is the fourth year in a row that Arnold & Porter has achieved this certification. Arnold & Porter also maintained its Mansfield Certification Plus rating, a status that recognizes firms with at least 30 percent of women or diverse lawyers in leading roles.

Arnold & Porter Chairman Richard M. Alexander said, "We are proud of our achievements and success in continuing to promote women and attorneys of color, as well as the inclusion of women, attorneys of color, and LGBTQ+ attorneys on key committees and in practice group leadership. We strive to continue to be a leader in this area.”

The goal of the Mansfield Rule is to boost the representation of lawyers from underrepresented groups in law firm leadership by broadening the pool of candidates considered for these roles and opportunities. For participating firms to achieve certification, the Mansfield Rule 4.0 requires that women, minority attorneys, LGBTQ+ attorneys, and lawyers with disabilities make up 30 percent of the candidate pool for recruitment, governance roles, equity partner promotions, and inclusion in formal pitch presentations to clients.

The Mansfield Rule stems from the 2016 Women In Law Hackathon, a competition hosted by Diversity Lab in collaboration with Bloomberg Law and Stanford Law School intended to generate ideas for boosting "the retention and advancement of experienced women in law firms." Arnold & Porter participated in the initial Hackathon and the pilot for the program and has been certified every year since its inception.

Diversity and inclusion are core values at Arnold & Porter. The firm is committed to cultivating an inclusive environment where everyone is supported and accorded dignity and respect. This past year the firm announced new diversity initiatives that include partnerships with the National Bar Association to support the retention and advancement of Black attorneys at law firms, with A Better Chance to promote interest in legal profession among students of color, and with the Advancement Project National Office to address equity in education.