Crowell & Moring Achieves Mansfield 2.0 Certification

Washington – September 3, 2019: Crowell & Moring has achieved Mansfield 2.0 Certification status for 2019. The Mansfield Rule measures whether law firms have affirmatively considered women, lawyers of color, and LGBTQ+ lawyers — at least 30 percent of the candidate pool — for significant leadership and governance roles in the firm (for example, practice group leaders and management board) as well as promotions to equity partner and senior-level lateral hiring.

“We are very proud of this achievement, but as always, we recognize that diversity and inclusion is a work in progress,” said Philip T. Inglima, Crowell & Moring chair. “We know that there remains much to do to truly move the needle both in our firm and in the legal industry as a whole. We see this as an important step in achieving those goals.”

The firm announced in September 2018 that it was one of 65 firms to join the Mansfield 2.0 pilot, which ran through July 2019. Participating firms were tasked with tracking candidates considered for formal pitch meetings and developing position descriptions or appointment processes for 50 percent of their leadership roles. Firms that successfully implemented this rule gained formal certification, opening the door for newly promoted women and diverse partners to attend forums with participating in-house legal departments.

“The Mansfield certification process has helped ensure that we formalize efforts to diversify our leadership and enhance transparency in our firm’s leadership selections and governance,” said Ellen Moran Dwyer, chair of Crowell & Moring’s Executive Committee. “It is a valuable tool for firms not only to earn this certification, but also to integrate these processes and make them routine going forward.”  

The Mansfield Rule is named after Arabella Mansfield, the first woman admitted to the practice of law in the United States, and it is inspired by the “Rooney Rule,” a mandate that requires every NFL team to interview at least one minority candidate for head coach vacancies. The Mansfield Rule was one of the winning ideas from the 2016 Women in Law Hackathon. The 1.0 version of the certification program – pertaining to women and minorities – was piloted from summer 2017 through mid-2018. Mansfield 2.0 now includes LGBTQ+ lawyers.

Click here to read The Diversity Lab’s announcement about the newly certified firms.

About Crowell & Moring LLP

Crowell & Moring LLP is an international law firm with approximately 550 lawyers representing clients in litigation and arbitration, regulatory, and transactional matters. The firm is internationally recognized for its representation of Fortune 500 companies in high-stakes litigation, as well as its ongoing commitment to pro bono service and diversity. The firm has offices in Washington, D.C., New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Orange County, London, and Brussels.