Fisher Phillips Achieves Mansfield Rule 5.0 Certification and Certification Plus Status

Fisher Phillips, one of the country’s preeminent labor and employment law firms representing employers, is among a select group of law firms to earn Diversity Lab’s Mansfield Rule 5.0 Certification and Certification Plus status.

The 5.0 certification indicates that Fisher Phillips affirmatively considered women, attorneys of color, LGBTQ+ attorneys, and attorneys with disabilities for leadership and governance roles, equity partner promotions, formal client pitch opportunities, and senior lateral positions. Firms participating in Mansfield 5.0 were also asked, for the first time, to consider at least 30% underrepresented lawyers when hiring and promoting to C-level or other senior-level professional staff roles and for nominations to Chambers USA. Participating firms were also asked to track candidate pools in a more granular way to ensure that no underrepresented group was left behind.

The firm’s “Certification Plus” status indicates that Fisher Phillips not only considered historically underrepresented groups for leadership roles but also achieved diverse representation during the certification period.   

“It takes a lot of work for firms to make even incremental changes to longstanding systems, and it is an absolute honor for the Diversity Lab team to see what these firms have achieved over the course of the year-long certification cycle,” said Kavita Ramakrishnan, Diversity Lab’s Mansfield Rule and Knowledge Sharing Senior Director. “The firms enthusiastically engaged with Mansfield’s rigorous challenges while sharing learnings with each other to ensure a collective “win.” Every Certified and Certified Plus firm should take great pride in this hard-earned accomplishment!”

In addition to achieving the 5.0 Certification and Certification Plus status, Fisher Phillips has also signed on as one of the 180+ law firms to participate in Diversity Lab’s next round of the Mansfield Rule certification process. The newest version – Mansfield Rule 6.0 – is described as the “toughest yet” requiring participating law firms to consider at least 30% of underrepresented lawyer groups (women, racial and ethnic, LGBTQ+, and lawyers with disabilities) when appointing leadership roles and promoting into the equity partnership. Firms must also consider 30% underrepresented talent for C-suite roles and will be asked to share lessons learned with each other through monthly knowledge sharing forums.

“We are a better law firm because diversity, equity and inclusion are at the very core of who we are and what we do,” said John Polson, Chairman and Managing Partner of Fisher Phillips. Regina Petty, Fisher Phillips’ Chief Diversity Officer and Partner added: “While we are pleased by the progress we have made which is confirmed by our firm’s Mansfield Certification and Certification Plus status, we know that our work is ongoing, and we must keep striving to drive and sustain diversity for the communities in which we work, for the clients we serve, and for an inclusive culture for our colleagues.”

For more information about Diversity Lab’s Mansfield Rule 5.0 Certification and Certification Plus please click here.

About Diversity Lab (www.diversitylab.com)

Diversity Lab is an incubator for innovative ideas and solutions that boost diversity and inclusion in law. Experimental ideas are created through our Hackathons and piloted in collaboration with more than 250 top law firms and legal departments across the country. Diversity Lab leverages data, behavioral science, design thinking, and technology to further develop and test new ideas and research, measure the results, and share the lessons learned. For more details, visit www.diversitylab.com.