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

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NEW YORK—August 21, 2018—O’Melveny has achieved Mansfield Certification, a select designation given to law firms that affirmatively consider at least 30 percent women, LGBTQ+, and attorneys of color for leadership and governance roles, equity partner promotions, and senior lateral positions.

In addition, O’Melveny has earned ‘Certification Plus’ status, which indicates that, in addition to meeting or exceeding the pipeline consideration requirements for Certification, it successfully reached at least 30 percent women and minority lawyer representation in a notable number of current leadership roles and committees.

The goal of the Mansfield Rule is to boost the representation of diverse lawyers in law firm leadership by broadening the pool of candidates considered for these opportunities. The idea 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. 

To achieve the Mansfield Rule objectives, participating law firms had to establish a baseline metric by which they could assess and analyze their talent pipelines. To that end, as part of the Mansfield Rule Certification process, the firms were expected to create and adopt documentation and tracking norms to measure their progress and identify areas for improvement.

“We are gratified to have achieved Mansfield Certification Plus,” said Darin Snyder, O’Melveny’s Diversity and Inclusion Partner, and a member of the firm’s Policy and Executive committees. “Diversity and inclusion is at the core of everything we do at O’Melveny, and we are proud to be part of this important initiative to advance those goals both at our own firm and throughout the entire industry.”

O’Melveny received its certification after completing the inaugural one-year Mansfied Rule pilot. O’Melveny was only one of 27 firms to receive Certification Plus status. Certification Plus firms will have the opportunity to send their newly promoted diverse and women partners to a client forum to build relationships with and learn from influential in-house counsel from more than 60 companies, including Bloomberg L.P., Facebook, and Walmart.

“Advancing the careers of our diverse lawyers is a major priority for O’Melveny, and we are honored to earn the Certification Plus designation for our efforts,” added Mary Ellen Connerty, O’Melveny’s Director of Diversity and Engagement. “Ensuring the continued success of our diverse talent speaks to what we value as a firm.”

O’Melveny is a recognized leader in diversity and inclusion. The firm was recently ranked the #2 Law Firm for Overall Diversity by Vault, and named one of the “Best Law Firms for Women” for the sixth consecutive year by Working Mother magazine and the “Best International Firm for Women in Business Law” for the third consecutive year by Euromoney Legal Media Group. 

About O’Melveny

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Contact

Christopher Rieck
O’Melveny & Myers LLP
+1 212 326 2218
crieck@omm.com