Stoel Rives Achieves Mansfield Rule 3.0 Plus Certification; Renews for Mansfield Rule 4.0

Portland, OR —  Stoel Rives LLP is proud to announce that it has achieved Mansfield Rule 3.0 Plus Certification, for which it has demonstrated that it considers at least 30 percent women, lawyers of color, and LGBTQ+ lawyers for leadership and governance roles, equity partner promotions, formal client pitch opportunities and senior lateral positions. “Plus” status indicates that, in addition to meeting or exceeding the baseline requirements, the firm has met the goal of at least 30 percent diverse lawyer representation in a notable number of its current leadership roles.

A program of Diversity Lab, the Mansfield Rule law firm certification program is designed to boost the representation of diverse lawyers in law firm leadership by broadening the pool of candidates considered for such opportunities. In addition to attaining Mansfield Rule 3.0 Plus Certification, Stoel Rives has signed on for Mansfield 4.0 Plus certification, which runs from July 2020 to July 2021.

“We at Stoel Rives congratulate Diversity Lab on the success to date of the Mansfield Rule law firm certification program,” Stoel Rives’ Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee Chair Tim Taylor said. “We are delighted to be part of the growth of this program and to witness it come to fruition in industry-wide growth in areas such as the hiring of women lateral partners.”

Over the course of the year-long certification process, Diversity Lab collected and analyzed data on the firms’ diversity progress with regard to the certification requirements. Highlights of the collective outcomes from the 3.0 certification process include:

• 94 percent of participating firms reported that their candidate pool for pitch teams was more diverse following the adoption of the Mansfield Rule;
• 79 percent of firms reported that their lateral partner hiring pool was more diverse, and 76 percent said their equity partner promotions pool was more diverse;
• 92 percent of firms reported an increase in formal diversity discussions regarding succession planning for leadership and governance roles, and 85 percent increased formal discussions for lateral partner hiring;
• 57 percent of participating firms elected or appointed a higher percentage of diverse lawyers into office managing partner roles; and
• Prior to participating in the Mansfield Rule, only 12 percent of firms tracked their candidates for leadership roles and 25 percent tracked their candidates for lateral partner hiring. 100 percent are now tracking these candidate pools.

Stoel Rives has long been recognized for its advancement of women lawyers to positions of leadership and ownership. In addition to the Mansfield Rule law firm certification, the firm is Gold Standard Certified by the Women in Law Empowerment Forum (WILEF), a leading organization for women in law dedicated to assisting women in the largest law firms and corporate law departments in advancing their careers.

Additionally, in 2020 Stoel Rives became one of the founding law firms of the Move the Needle Fund, a five-year model program led by Diversity Lab to help five law firms reach the diversity and inclusion goals they set for themselves.