Keira Pender
Pronouns: she/her
Research Mentor(s): Katherine Simpson
Research Mentor School/College/Department: Ray Corollary Initiative / NonUM
Program: UROPF
Session: Session 4 (1:40pm – 2:30pm)
Authors:
Abstract
The legal industry has historically been homogeneous, but over the past century, it has seen slow but significant strides in diversifying its composition. In 2016, the Diversity Lab created the Mansfield Rule, a program aimed at increasing diversity in law firm leadership through policies rooted in behavioral science, transparency, and accountability. This project analyzes whether this program has successfully met its goals and sustained them over time. The analysis utilizes existing research on the Mansfield rule and similar diversity policies to provide a critical analysis of their efficacy within the industry. The findings suggest that the Mansfield rule increased diversity in law firms’ hiring processes, but falls short in addressing systemic issues that hinder career advancement, such as lack of mentorship and internal biases. Additionally, there has not been a significant increase in diversity in leadership among participating firms. While the Mansfield Rule has achieved some success, it still requires improvement in addressing systemic issues. Comprehensive strategies are needed to further increase diversity in the legal industry.
