Hanson Bridgett Achieves Mansfield 5.0 Plus Certification
October, 2022 - San Francisco, California
October 19, 2022 (San Francisco, CA) – Hanson Bridgett LLP is proud to have achieved Diversity Lab's Mansfield 5.0 Plus certification. In September 2021, the firm announced that it had achieved Mansfield 4.0 Certification Plus status. The parameters for certification have expanded in scope while also increasing in rigor with input from an advisory group of diversity leaders since its launch five years ago. The firm has already committed to the Mansfield 6.0 certification process.
"Years before signing on to the Mansfield Rule, Hanson Bridgett adopted a policy for leadership positions which was spearheaded by our two of our internal committees: the Diversity & Inclusion Network and the Women’s Impact Network. The stated target of that leadership position policy was to meet or exceed the standards for becoming Mansfield Certified," said Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer Jennifer Martinez. "We are proud to have achieved the most recent iteration of the certification and are vigorously working on the next. We consider Mansfield Certification not as a ceiling, but as the new floor for diversity in leadership."
When Diversity Lab first launched the pilot certification with 40+ large firms in 2017, the primary requirement was to consider at least 30 percent women lawyers and underrepresented racial and ethnic lawyers for leadership roles. Versions 2.0 through 6.0 were steadily broadened each year to include LGBTQ+ lawyers and lawyers with disabilities as well as critical pipeline activities (e.g., pitch teams, senior-level lateral hiring), transparent leadership role descriptions, and more. Research shows that starting small, testing, and iterating are key to agile and successful change management efforts.
