Thompson Coburn achieves Mansfield Rule 3.0 ‘Certified Plus’ status

Thompson Coburn is one of just 100 firms in the country that have been certified under the Mansfield Rule 3.0, a national initiative to increase the representation of diverse lawyers in law firm leadership by broadening the pool of candidates considered for roles and opportunities.

Additionally, Thompson Coburn is one of only 65 Mansfield 3.0 certified firms that achieved “Plus” status, meaning that in addition to meeting or exceeding the baseline requirements, we successfully reached at least 30 percent diverse lawyer representation in a notable number of current leadership roles.

For example, at Thompson Coburn:

• 30% of our practice group leaders are diverse
  
  
• 40% of our office managing partners and Management Committee members are diverse

The Mansfield Rule is named after Arabella Mansfield, the first woman admitted to the practice of law in the United States. It traces its origin to the 2016 Women in Law Hackathon hosted by Diversity Lab in collaboration with Bloomberg Law and Stanford Law School.

Thompson Coburn has already committed to participate in Mansfield 2021. Norma Jackson, Thompson Coburn’s Director of Diversity, Inclusion &  Professional Development, is an advisory board member for Mansfield 2021, which will determine the next set of national standards for promoting diversity in law firm hiring, promotions and governance.

“It’s remarkable to see the outcomes that have been achieved in the last three years under the national Mansfield effort,” said Norma, who leads Thompson Coburn’s Mansfield efforts with Diversity Committee Co-Chair Tony Anderson. “Across some of the largest firms in the country, law firm leadership is more diverse, client teams are more diverse, and equity partner membership is more diverse. By publicly committing to consider more diverse candidates for key roles, we are creating new pathways for diverse attorneys to advance in their careers and positively influence law firm culture.”

“Thompson Coburn is proud to take a lead role in this important national initiative and proud of the enthusiasm and commitment all of our attorneys have demonstrated in building a more diverse pool of candidates for leadership opportunities,” said Roman Wuller, Chair of Thompson Coburn. “We thank Norma for her leadership on this effort, and look forward to joining our Mansfield 2021 colleagues in continuing to create new opportunities for diverse attorneys.”