Meagher + Geer is proud to announce that we have achieved Mansfield Certification Plus.

The Mansfield Certification, facilitated by Diversity Lab, recognizes the structural changes and actions we have taken over 18-months to diversify leadership in our firm by broadening the slate of talent considered for internal leadership roles and increasing transparency with written and accessible advancement processes and role descriptions. Our certification is a result of the leadership and ongoing efforts of our Mansfield Certification Partner, Debra Weiss, who instituted proper process and collection of critical data as well as regularly engaging with other Mansfield participants to share knowledge and learnings.

Our Certification “Plus” status indicates that, in addition to successfully meeting the consideration and transparency requirements, our firm has achieved 30% representation of historically underrepresented lawyers in current leadership roles and pathway activities. Meagher + Geer is proud to have reached this significant milestone and we will continue to build teams that reflect the diversity of our clients and communities while providing innovative counsel and exceptional service.

Why This Matters
The goal of Mansfield is to increase and sustain diversity in law firm leadership through a science-driven method that embeds accountability, transparency, and knowledge sharing into our talent practices. We know that with diverse leadership comes more inclusive and equitable decisions that reflect the needs of our diverse workforce for the benefit of our talent and diverse clients.

What We Do in Practice
What does this mean in practice at our firm? Whenever our leaders make a decision about who to appoint or elect to leadership roles such as Management Committee, we proactively consider a broad slate of talent including lawyers who are historically underrepresented in law. The same inclusive decision making takes place when we build client pitch teams and nominate lawyers for awards. And, as part of Mansfield, we also work hard to ensure that our processes for advancement and the job expectations/qualifications for leaders at the firm are transparent. The Mansfield framework helps us ensure that we approach succession planning for the next generation of leaders in an inclusive, structured, and intentional manner consistently across offices and practices.

Proof That It’s Working
As illustrated in this recent American Lawyer article, an extensive analysis by two data science professors shows Mansfield is succeeding at its intended purpose to diversify leadership at firms that stay committed long-term. We, too, have seen and experienced positive progress at our firm. If you would like to learn more, please contact Debra Weiss or Stacy Broman.