DEI Resources

Diversity Lab and our partners remain committed to advancing inclusivity across the legal industry to create a fair and equitable work environment for all. Knowledge Sharing is a resource hub that provides extensive information on our pilots and innovations as well as crucial matters of workplace equality and pertinent obstacles and challenges.

We will routinely update this page and its subsequent pages. If you want to recommend content, please email us.

News & Reports: Articles

New EEOC Strategic Playbook Sharpens Focus on Systemic Bias, Bloomberg, August 22, 2023

The new strategic plan for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is eliminating barriers to employment.

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News & Reports: Articles

Why Settle for Cookie-Cutter People and Culture Practices?, Stanford Social Innovation Review, June 20, 2023

Six ideas that could help organizations improve hiring, performance, equity, and more.

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News & Reports: Articles

When Blind Hiring Advances DEI — and When It Doesn’t, Harvard Business Review, June 1, 2023

While anonymous hiring is generally effective, there are situations where it can fail to help you diversify your candidate pool.

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News & Reports: Podcasts

BSing with Courtney Munnings, B.S.: Beyond Stereotypes

Going through life masking to fit in can be exhausting and lead to burn out. Learning to believe the way you are is the right way to be can unlock your power and potential. Courtney Munnings, Diversity Lab’s Mansfield Rule and Knowledge Sharing Specialist, successfully navigated law school and big law firm life prior to […]

#News & Reports #Podcasts

Scotus: Articles

No, SCOTUS Did Not Make Your Company’s DEI Programs Illegal, Harvard Business Review, August 29, 2023

Focus your DEI program on interrupting the bias that’s constantly transmitted through basic business systems. It’s the most effective approach to building an inclusive environment and controlling for legal risk.

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Scotus: Articles

A Call to Action: Stay Calm and Carry On (Legally) in the Wake of Anti-DEI Directives, ALM, June 30, 2023

While the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to end race-conscious affirmative action in college admissions was not unexpected, it nonetheless appears to have given enlightened leaders in the legal and broader business community reason for pause, if not panic. It shouldn’t.

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Scotus: Articles

How to Effectively — and Legally — Use Racial Data for DEI, Harvard Business Review, July 24, 2023

After the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling, leaders might be concerned that their DEI initiatives will face additional scrutiny and legal challenges. While reducing liability is a responsible move, don’t succumb to a fear-driven abandonment of effective DEI practices.

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Scotus: Articles

Impact of Supreme Court’s Fair Admissions Decisions on Employers and Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Initiatives, Seyfarth, July 11, 2023

Partners from Seyfarth share their insights on the recent SCOTUS affirmative action decisions and how organizations can continue with DEI efforts in the current climate.

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Mansfield: Articles

The Science Behind The Mansfield Rule’s Success In Law, LAW360, September 6, 2023

An interview with Caren Ulrich Stacy, founder and CEO of Diversity Lab, and Alyssa Jarvis, senior Mansfield manager, explores the behavioral approach to driving change in the legal industry.

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Mansfield: Articles

What It’s Like for Midsize Firms To Get Mansfield-Certified, According to the Firms Who Just Did, law.com, June 01, 2023

About 70 midsize firms qualified for Diversity Lab’s midsize Mansfield Certification in the program’s second iteration. Leaders at recently qualified firms said the program pushed them to formalize talent management solutions.

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Mansfield: Articles

Underrepresented to Empowered: Creating a More Inclusive Legal Profession, Courtroom Insight Blog, May 3, 2023

Despite some progress, the legal profession continues to struggle with diversity and inclusion.

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Mansfield: Articles

Innovations in Diversity and Inclusion, Law Firm: Nixon Peabody, law.com, May 11, 2023

In collaboration with Diversity Lab, Nixon Peabody designed the “Mansfield Rule for Workflow” (MRW), a “bias interrupter” to help the firm’s leaders create a more inclusive culture related to staffing teams and furthering associates’ career development.

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Mansfield: Articles

How to track and empower diversity and inclusion initiatives in the legal profession, ABA Journal, January 2023

An interview with Caren Ulrich Stacy, the founder and CEO of the Diversity Lab, about how behavioral science and design thinking can cultivate diversity and inclusion in legal organizations.

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Mansfield: Articles

Despite the Effort, Structural Blockers, Not Ennui, Stall Law Firm Diversity Efforts, June 06, 2023

Built-in structural issues can cause relatively diversified annual junior intakes to experience alarming dropout rates further down the line.

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Mansfield: Articles

Data Shows Mansfield Firms Are Adding Diverse Leaders Much Faster, The American Lawyer, May 2023

Researchers from two universities say data science backs the need for DEIA innovation and measurement, leveraging Mansfield as a prime example. Finding that Mansfield early-adopter firms roughly double the rate at which gender and racial representation is improving in their firm’s equity partnerships and executive committees.

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Mansfield: Articles

Diversifying Leadership: How the Mansfield Rule Is Driving Change, Bloomberg Law, June 2022

Former Reed Smith DEI leader John Iino, Penn Law’s Jim Sandman, and Diversity Lab CEO Caren Ulrich Stacy share data on Mansfield’s promising progress in delivering positive culture and structural changes in law firm leadership.

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ONRAMP: Articles

Another Shot at Big Law, Washington Lawyer, April 2023

In its efforts to help women lawyers reenter the profession, Diversity Lab’s OnRamp Fellowship addresses the intersectionality of gender, age, and ethnicity or race for women’s representation in the law.

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Inclusion Blueprint: Reports

Diversity Lab’s 2022 Inclusion Blueprint Insights, Diversity Lab, January 2023

With more than 240 participating law firms this year, the legal profession now has the data needed to measure inclusion – in addition to representation – of underrepresented lawyers on a large scale for the first time. Diversity Lab encourages firms to use this data to prioritize their inclusion efforts.

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Diversity Dividends Collective: Articles

ESG Enablement Through Technology, Law Department: The Diversity Dividends Collective, Law.com, April 20, 2023

The Diversity Dividends Collective is a first-of-its-kind collective amongst more than 40 legal departments to propel the inclusion, equity, and diversity of legal departments’ outside counsel teams—broadening the scope of underrepresented lawyers at law firms who have access to high-quality work, regularly interact with in-house counsel, and receive credit for originating client work.

#Diversity Dividends Collective #Articles

Disability Inclusion: Articles

Disability as a Source of Competitive Advantage, Harvard Business Review, August 2023

Employing and including people with disabilities can provide companies with a competitive advantage.

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Disability Inclusion: Articles

Disabled but Equal, Bloomberg Law, 2023

An essential read from David Cross, Partner at MoFo and a member of the Diversity Lab Disability Advisory Council. David shares his experience as a lawyer with a disability, the negative stigmas still surrounding people with disabilities, and how law firms can break down barriers for people with disabilities.

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Disability Inclusion: Articles

​​Neurodiversity in the workplace: Why it matters, CultureAmp

This article defines and explains the different types of neurodiversity, and why it makes sense for organizations to embrace neurodiversity in the workplace.

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Inclusion Blueprint: Video

Equal Access to Succession Planning of Work and Client Relationships Eversheds Sunderland January 2023

Mark Wasserman talks about Eversheds Sutherland’s approach to succession planning, which goes beyond traditional retirement and focuses on all the people in the firm having access to opportunities at all points in their careers.

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Inclusion Blueprint: Video

Measuring Inclusion by Intersectional Identities

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Inclusion Blueprint: Video

Inclusion for LGBTQ+ Lawyers

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Inclusion Blueprint: Video

Equitable Credit Allocation for All Lawyers

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Inclusion Blueprint: Video

Equal Access to Influential Sponsors

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Inclusion Blueprint: Video

Inclusion for Lawyers with Disabilities

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Hackathon: Video

Diversity in Law Hackathon at Harvard Law School Executive Education

In June 2018, Harvard Law School Executive Education hosted the first Diversity in Law Hackathon run by Diversity Lab and sponsored by Bloomberg Law. Read about the event: A Hackathon to Promote Diversity in Law, Harvard Law Today

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Hackathon: Reports

Diversity Lab Hackathon Strives to Advance Women in the Legal Profession

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Inclusion Blueprint: Reports

An Inclusion Roadmap for Firm Leadership

Diversity Lab is providing law firms with the Inclusion Blueprint Strategic Planning Guide as a north star for assessing their firm’s current inclusion efforts.

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Inclusion Blueprint: Reports

2022 Inclusion Blueprint: Firm Leadership Insights

The legal profession has room to grow on inclusion tracking and measuring opportunities for lawyers with disabilities.

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Inclusion Blueprint: Reports

2021 Inclusion Blueprint Report

Within each practice group category, more practice groups show year-over-year representation increases for equity partners than for non-equity partners across most demographic groups.

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Inclusion Blueprint: Reports

2020-2021 Practice Group Inclusion Blueprint Guide

Leveraging this Guide, practice group leaders can clearly identify what their practice group is already doing to ensure inclusivity and what their practice group can do to enhance its efforts to be more inclusive so that all lawyers have fair and equal access to career advancement.

#Inclusion Blueprint #Reports

Inclusion Blueprint: Reports

2020-2021 Firm Leadership Inclusion Blueprint Guide

This Guide helps firm leaders identify what they are already doing to promote inclusivity  and what else they can do to ensure that all lawyers have fair and equal access to career advancement and success.

#Inclusion Blueprint #Reports

Inclusion Blueprint: Reports

2019 Inclusion Blueprint Report Findings

The 2019 Inclusion Blueprint reveals many interesting insights regarding the inclusion practices and diversity representation at both the practice group and firmwide levels at more than 70 law firms, which mostly include midsize to large Am Law 200 firms.

#Inclusion Blueprint #Reports

Inclusion Blueprint: Reports

2018 Inclusion Blueprint

This analysis examines data collected from the ChIPs Inclusion Blueprint Survey, conducted in August 2018, in partnership with Diversity Lab regarding gender diversity, inclusion practices, and intellectual property group inclusion practices.

#Inclusion Blueprint #Reports

Disability Inclusion: Video

Disability Inclusion I: Introduction to Language, Definitions & Self Identification (Open Captions)

The first of our four-part series about how organizations can support individuals with disabilities, this Knowledge Sharing webinar focuses on language, definitions, and self-identification.

#Disability Inclusion #Video

Disability Inclusion: Video

Disability Inclusion I: Introduction to Language, Definitions & Self Identification (Closed Captions)

The first of our four-part series about how organizations can support individuals with disabilities, this Knowledge Sharing webinar focuses on language, definitions, and self-identification.

#Disability Inclusion #Video

Disability Inclusion: Video

Disability Inclusion I Transcript

The first of our four-part series about how organizations can support individuals with disabilities, this Knowledge Sharing webinar focuses on language, definitions, and self-identification.

#Disability Inclusion #Video

Hackathon: Reports

Northwestern and UC Hastings Law Schools Host Diversity in Law Hackathon

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News & Reports: Reports

Litter’s Inclusion, Equity and Diversity C-Suite Survey Report

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Scotus, News & Reports: Articles, Articles

Law Firm Leaders, GCs and Bar Leaders Outline DEI Recommendations in Wake of Affirmative Action Ruling

#Scotus #News & Reports #Articles #Articles

Disability Inclusion: Articles

90+ Law Firms Take Action to Increase Disability Inclusion

#Disability Inclusion #Articles

Mansfield: Articles

To Reach DEI Goals, Structural Challenges Require Structural Solutions

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Mansfield: Articles

Mansfield Certification Triples in 3 Years, Signaling That Legal Departments Are Still Keen on Diversity

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Mansfield: Articles

63 In-House Legal Teams Win Mansfield Diversity Certification

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Mansfield: Articles

The Science Behind The Mansfield Rule’s Success in Law

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Mansfield: Articles

Tara Plimpton Named Woman of Impact

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Mansfield: Articles

A Push for More Progress: Increased Diversity in the Legal Profession

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Disability Inclusion: Video

Disability Inclusion II Transcript

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Disability Inclusion: Video

Disability Inclusion II: Removing Physical and Digital Barriers to Accessibility (Open Captions)

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Disability Inclusion: Video

Disability Inclusion II: Removing Physical and Digital Barriers to Accessibility (Closed Captions)

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Disability Inclusion: Video

Disability Inclusion III: Establishing Affinity Groups and Programming (Open Captions)

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Disability Inclusion: Video

Disability Inclusion III: Establishing Affinity Groups and Programming (Closed Captions)

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Disability Inclusion: Video

Disability Inclusion III Transcript

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Disability Inclusion: Video

Disability Inclusion IV Transcript

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Disability Inclusion: Video

Disability Inclusion IV: Implementing a Centralized Accommodations Program (Open Captions)

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Disability Inclusion: Video

Disability Inclusion IV: Implementing a Centralized Accommodations Program (Closed Captions)

#Disability Inclusion #Video

Disability Inclusion: Video

Disability Inclusion V: Combining Professional Development and Neurodiversity (Open Captions)

#Disability Inclusion #Video

Disability Inclusion: Video

Disability Inclusion V: Combining Professional Development and Neurodiversity (Closed Captions)

#Disability Inclusion #Video

Disability Inclusion: Video

Disability Inclusion V Transcript

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Mansfield: Reports

Mansfield Outcomes Show Significant Growth in Diversifying Leadership

Summary Systemic Problem: Industry data shows that leadership in law firms and legal departments does not reflect the diversity of the workforce or society.  Since lawyers often have an immense societal footprint – often branching out from leadership in private practice and companies to take on roles where their decisions reverberate massively across the public and […]

#Mansfield #Reports

Hackathon: Reports

Shark Tank-Style Pitch Competition Delivers Innovative Ways to Defend and Fortify DEI in the Legal Profession

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Hackathon: Reports

Winning Ideas 2024 Moments to Movements Hackathon

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Mansfield: Reports

Leaders at Mansfield Legal Departments Discuss Benefits of Mansfield Participation

US & Canada Legal Departments (November 2022) “At Accenture we know that our commitment to inclusion, diversity and equality unleashes innovation, and underpins a culture in which everyone feels they have an equal opportunity to feel they belong, advance and thrive. We share in Diversity Lab’s mission and embrace the Mansfield Rule’s focus on accountability […]

#Mansfield #Reports

Mansfield: Reports

Leaders at Mansfield Law Firms Discuss Benefits of Mansfield Participation

US & Canada Law Firms (October 2022) “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I) are core values of Beveridge & Diamond. We are dedicated to continuing our leadership in DE&I and fostering an inclusive workplace for lawyers and staff alike. Our participation in the Mansfield Rule initiative has facilitated our development of new programs and processes, and […]

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Get In Touch

If you are a law firm or legal department looking to diversify your workplace, reach out and let’s start a conversation.