PHILADELPHIA, September 15, 2020 --- Cozen O’Connor is pleased to announce its achievement of the Mansfield Rule 3.0 Certification status. Last May, Cozen O’Connor announced that they would be signing on for this certification, which consisted of a yearlong process requiring the firm to boost its efforts to promote opportunities for its diverse attorneys, including tracking candidates considered for promotion to partner and firm-wide leadership roles and activities within the firm, as well as lateral partner and senior associate hiring and inclusion in formal client pitches and RFPs.
Now in its third iteration, the Mansfield Rule Certification measures whether law firms have affirmatively considered at least 30 percent women, attorneys of color, LGBTQ+ and lawyers with disabilities for leadership and governance roles, equity partner promotions, formal client pitch opportunities, and senior lateral positions.
“The firm has long been committed to the promotion and retention of diverse and women candidates, so we are very proud to see our hard work and dedication come together to obtain this achievement,” said Vincent R. McGuinness, Jr,. President and Managing Partner of Cozen O’Connor. “We will continue to strive toward building a culture that values the needs of each individual and utilize all of the tools that this certification has to offer.”
Some of the benefits the firm will receive through this certification include access to Diversity Lab’s Resource Library containing a robust collection of templates and key research; monthly Knowledge Sharing calls to exchange best practices with other Mansfield Rule firms, as well as attendance at the Mansfield Rule Client Forums for newly promoted diverse equity partners from certified firms to meet and learn from legal department leaders.
The Mansfield Rule is one of the winning ideas from the 2016 Women in Law Hackathon hosted by Diversity Lab, in collaboration with Bloomberg Law and Stanford Law. It was inspired by the NFL’s Rooney Rule that requires NFL teams to interview at least one minority candidate for head coach vacancies. The goal is to boost the representation of diverse lawyers in law firm leadership by broadening the pool of candidates considered for these opportunities.
About Cozen O’Connor
Ranked among the top 100 law firms in the country, Cozen O’Connor has more than 825 attorneys in 31 cities across two continents. We are a full-service firm with nationally recognized practices in litigation, business law, and government relations, and our attorneys have experience operating in all sectors of the economy. Our diverse client list includes global Fortune 500 companies, middle-market firms poised for growth, ambitious startups, and high-profile individuals.