O’Melveny Once Again Achieves Mansfield Certification for its Diverse Hiring and Promotion Practices

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NEW YORK—September 3, 2019—Every year since the inception of the Mansfield Program, and for the second consecutive year, O’Melveny has achieved Mansfield Certification and “Certification Plus” status.

Mansfield Certification is awarded to law firms that affirmatively consider at least 30 percent women, LGBTQ+, and attorneys of color for leadership and governance roles, equity partner promotions, formal client pitch opportunities, and senior lateral positions.

“Certification Plus” indicates that a firm has successfully reached at least 30 percent women and minority lawyer representation in a number of current leadership roles and committees.

The Mansfield Rule is intended to boost the representation of diverse lawyers in law firm leadership by broadening the pool of candidates considered for these opportunities. Named for Arabella Mansfield, the first woman admitted to the practice of law in the United States, the initiative grew out of the 2016 Women in Law Hackathon hosted by Diversity Lab in collaboration with Bloomberg Law and Stanford Law School, which counted O’Melveny among its participants.

“We’re proud to again be Mansfield certified,” said Darin Snyder, O’Melveny’s diversity and inclusion partner, and a member of the firm’s Policy and Executive committees. “And we’re thrilled to achieve ‘Certification Plus’ for the second year in row. These designations recognize that we are interviewing diverse candidates for key leadership positions and putting them in those positions. That’s real progress and how real lasting change will happen.”

O’Melveny received its certification after completing the Mansfield Rule 2.0 twelve-month certification program, which was expanded this year to include tracking the participation of historically underrepresented lawyers in formal pitch meetings. Firms that achieve Certification Plus have the opportunity to send their newly promoted partners from underrepresented groups to one of four Client Forums to meet and learn from senior in-house counsel in a structured, small-group networking format. Over 60 legal departments are attending the 2019 Client Forums, including Barclays, Facebook, Fannie Mae, Ford Motor Company, Google, McKesson Corp, MetLife, Pfizer, PNC Bank, Uber, and US Bank.

“The Client Forums provide our new partners with valuable opportunities to enhance their business development and relationship building skills,” added Mary Ellen Connerty, O’Melveny’s director of Diversity and Engagement. “We are very grateful to Diversity Lab for organizing these incredible sessions.”

O’Melveny is a recognized leader in diversity and inclusion. The firm was recently ranked the #1 Law Firm for Overall Diversity by Vault, and for the eighth straight year was named to The American Lawyer’s A-List, a prestigious ranking that takes a holistic view of law firms including racial and gender diversity.

About O’Melveny

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