Reed Smith LLP issued the following announcement on Sept. 17.
Diversity Lab announced that Reed Smith has once again been named among a group of leading law firms to achieve Mansfield Certified Plus status, a testament to the firm’s continued commitment to diversity among in its leadership ranks. Reed Smith has achieved Certified Plus status every year since the launch of the Mansfield Rule in 2017.
“Every year, Diversity Lab raises the bar for Mansfield Rule certification, challenging law firms to embrace a culture of inclusion and opportunity and to establish goals and metrics for which they can be judged against peer firms. We are very proud to have met the challenge in each of the past three years,” said Sandy Thomas, Reed Smith’s Global Managing Partner.
The Mansfield Rule certification measures whether law firms have affirmatively considered women, diverse attorneys, LGBT+ attorneys, and attorneys with disabilities – at least 30 percent of the candidate pool – for recruitment, governance roles, equity partner promotions, and inclusion in formal pitches to clients. The Mansfield 3.0 iteration of the Mansfield Rule included lawyers with disabilities as part of the diverse candidate pool for the first time.
Additionally, for the third consecutive year since the launch of the Mansfield Rule, Reed Smith has achieved Mansfield “Certified Plus” status, which requires that a firm reach at least 30 percent diverse lawyer representation in a notable number of their current leadership roles and committees.
“Our commitment to providing diverse lawyers with the opportunities to build and grow thriving practices, while also assuming positions of leadership within the firm is exemplified in the progress we have made across every single Certified Plus metric over the past three years: lateral partner and lateral associate recruitment; equity partner promotions; executive committee, department chair, practice group leader, and office managing partner appointments; and diverse representation in client pitches,” said John Iino, Global Chief Diversity Officer.
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