Troutman Pepper Achieves Mansfield Rule 4.0 Certification Plus

NEW YORK – Troutman Pepper is among 118 leading law firms to earn Diversity Lab’s Mansfield Rule 4.0 Certification Plus status, which aims to increase the representation of diverse lawyers in law firm leadership by broadening the pool of candidates. Mansfield Rule 4.0 requires a firm to have at least 30% diverse lawyer representation in a notable number of its current leadership roles and committees; in its lateral associate and partner hiring; its formal client pitch process and staffing new matters; and its partner promotion process.

“Diversity, equity, and inclusion are among our firm’s core values, and we have prioritized diversity metrics like the Mansfield Rule to make a meaningful difference both within our firm and the greater industry,” said Sona Spencer, Troutman Pepper’s Chief Legal Talent Officer. “We are now applying this to all areas of our firm including all recruiting classes and all firm committees.”

Named for the first woman admitted to the practice of law in the United States, the Mansfield Rule measures whether law firms have affirmatively considered at least 30% historically underrepresented attorneys, specifically 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. Firms check-in with Diversity Lab on their progress at 3 months and 6 months and are certified annually as they follow, comply, and achieve the Rule’s requirements.

Collectively, firms that have participated in all four certification years have made significant strides in diversifying leadership, notably:

• 94% of participating firms reported that their candidate pool for pitch teams was more diverse following the adoption of the Mansfield Rule;
• 79% of firms reported that their lateral partner hiring pool was more diverse, and 76% said their equity partner promotions pool was more diverse;
• 92% of firms reported an increase in formal diversity discussions regarding succession planning for leadership and governance roles, and 85% increased formal discussions for lateral partner hiring;
• 57% 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% of firms tracked their candidates for leadership roles and 25% tracked their candidates for lateral partner hiring; now, 100% are tracking these candidate pools.

“Our firm has made it a priority to participate in the Mansfield Certification process annually,” said Partner Kassem Lucas, chair of Troutman Pepper’s Diversity & Inclusion Committee. “In the last year, we increased the representation of historically underrepresented attorneys in our talent pipeline for nearly all of the roles considered and, importantly, have a mechanism to measure this moving forward.”

About Troutman Pepper Troutman Pepper is a national law firm with more than 1,200 attorneys strategically located in 23 U.S. cities. The firm’s litigation, transactional, and regulatory practices advise a diverse client base, from start-ups to multinational enterprises. The firm provides sophisticated legal solutions to clients’ most pressing business challenges, with depth across industry sectors, including construction, energy, finance, health sciences, insurance, private equity, real estate, and technology, among others. Learn more at troutman.com.