Robins Kaplan Signs Mansfield Rule to Boost Diversity in Leadership

Robins Kaplan LLP is pleased to announce its participation in Mansfield Rule 3.0, powered by Diversity Lab, for the 2019-2020 certification cycle. The firm joins nearly 100 firms across the nation aiming to increase diversity in law firms by considering at least 30 percent women, lawyers with disabilities, LGBTQ+, and minority lawyers for significant leadership roles.

The initiative was launched in 2017 by Diversity Lab in collaboration with Bloomberg Law and Stanford Law School. It was named for Arabella Mansfield, the first woman admitted to the practice of law in the United States. The initiative was inspired by the NFL’s Rooney Rule, created by the late Dan Rooney in 2003 and now supported by his son, Art Rooney II, President of the Pittsburgh Steelers and a partner at the law firm Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney. The Rooney Rule requires every NFL team to interview at least one minority candidate for head coach vacancies. In the years following its implementation, the number of minorities hired to fill head coach roles doubled. Robins Kaplan adopted a Rooney Rule for lateral associate positions in 2016 and in the following year, the firm increased its hiring of attorneys of color by 30 percent and LGBTQ attorneys by 13 percent.

“Robins Kaplan has long been dedicated to ensuring diversity in the workplace and we are pleased to join other law firms across the country in this important initiative,” said Chandra Kilgriff, Robins Kaplan’s Chief Talent and Diversity Officer. “We saw some terrific results from implementing the Rooney Rule several years ago, and believe that the addition of the Mansfield Rule provides an even stronger framework for making sure that candidates from all backgrounds have the opportunity to excel in their roles at the firm.”

You can find more information on the Mansfield Rule here.