Bird & Bird has become one of the first firms to participate in Diversity Lab's Mansfield Rule Certification pilot programme in the UK, cementing the firm’s commitment to boost diversity and create an inclusive environment for all employees.
The Mansfield Rule certification has run for five years in the US and Canada and has expanded to the UK with a pilot programme with more than 10 leading law firms.
The goal of the Mansfield Rule is to boost the representation of historically underrepresented lawyers in law firm leadership. Now entering its fifth year, the Mansfield Rule has become the standard by which law firms track and measure that they have considered at least thirty percent women, lawyers from under represented racial/ethnic groups, lawyers with disabilities, and LGBTQ+ lawyers for top leadership roles, senior-level, associate and newly qualified hiring, promotions into the equity partnership, and participation in client pitch meetings.
Bird & Bird has long valued and been recognised for its distinctive culture which fosters an environment where everyone has a fair opportunity to thrive – for example winning Legal Cheek’s Most Admired Firm in 2021 and 2019 and winning Best Corporate Culture at the Managing Partners’ Forum Awards in 2018.
Over recent years the firm has introduced initiatives aimed at promoting gender diversity such as its award-winning Women’s Development Programme which won the Managing Partners’ Forum Best Leadership Programme award and Legal Week’s Diversity Innovation award in 2018. The programme is designed to help retain high-performing female associates, develop a global network of women across the firm, to encourage more role model behaviour and most importantly, inform us as a firm of any gender specific barriers to progression. It had an immediate impact on career results, with 40 who attended being promoted either to partner or counsel.
Bird & Bird has grown as an organisation and operates in a very different world today – more is needed to ensure a truly diverse and inclusive firm at all levels including leadership. Many of the firm’s clients have led the way in their recognition that the best value and teamwork comes from diverse teams.
D&I has become a core part of the firm’s strategy today, with the appointment of a D&I Leadership Group comprised of representatives from Board and Management bodies and its commitment to the UK pilot programme of the Mansfield Rule is a tangible next step to achieve this goal.
While the accreditation is only currently applicable in one of Bird & Bird’s offices (London), the firm plans to apply the principles of the Mansfield Rule across all parts of the global firm, including legal and Business Services departments and will be working on this in the coming months.
David Kerr, CEO of Bird & Bird comments on the programme and the firm’s participation: “At Bird & Bird, we’ve made a commitment to foster a diverse and inclusive environment across our international network. I’m very proud we are amongst the first law firms in the UK to participate in Diversity Lab’s Mansfield Rule Certification pilot programme as part of our efforts to take a step forward in ensuring there is equal opportunities for all.”
Recent data shows that the Mansfield Rule is succeeding at its goal. The “early adopter” firms piloting the Mansfield Rule since its 2017 inception have increased the racial and ethnic diversity of their management committees by 30 times the rate of non-Mansfield Rule firms. Click here to find out more about the requirements.
