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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

MORE MANSFIELD - The sixth edition of the Diversity Lab's Mansfield Rule arrived yesterday and, as Law.com's Dan Roe reports, it contains another challenge for its 250 member law firms: Consider at least 30% historically underrepresented lawyers from four historically underrepresented groups when promoting attorneys into the equity partnership and leadership roles. Launched in 2017, the first Mansfield Rule also asked firms to consider 30% underrepresented lawyers in partner and leadership promotions, and the rule's second iteration expanded the policy to include LGBTQ+ attorneys and lawyers with disabilities. The Mansfield Rule 6.0 broadens the criteria by asking firms to consider lawyers from each group, rather than just hitting 30% on aggregate. The new rule also applies the 30% consideration to C-suite roles. "We started small intentionally; we couldn't go from 0 to 60 in our traditionally risk-averse profession," Kavita Ramakrishnan, Mansfield Rule and knowledge sharing senior director, said in a statement. "But firms now expect and even ask for yearly changes to push boundaries. This year, for instance, a handful of firms are voluntarily piloting a more granular approach to tracking and considering talent from each of the four historically underrepresented groups to ensure that no group is left behind.

AWARDS SEASON - Lex Machina's new federal employment litigation report has some good news (if you or someone you love is a plaintiffs lawyer). As Law.com's Michael A. Mora reports, the new study shows that federal district courts awarded over $1.17 billion in damages in just over 1,000 cases—the largest damage amount in a decade. In federal appellate courts, appellants won less than 15%, appellees were victorious over 50%, settlements reached 15%, and procedural resolutions represented the remainder. But Gregory Brumfield, the author of Lex Machina's Employment Litigation Report 2022, said he was most surprised about how COVID-19 continued to shape employment litigation and the cases plaintiffs filed. "Employees are getting sick, and on the flip side of it, employers are fighting against different parameters that have been put in the workplace, whether that's a mask or whether that's proper protective gear," Brumfield said. "Those are the things that are going to shape the next few years."

WHO GOT THE WORK?℠ - Amazon.com has agreed to acquire iRobot Corp., the manufacturer of the Roomba vacuum, for $1.7 billion. Amazon was advised by a Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison team including partners Kyle Seifried and Krishna Veeraraghavan. iRobot, which is based in Bedford, Massachusetts, was represented by a Goodwin Procter team led by partners Mark Bettencourt, Stuart Cable, Gregg Katz and Joshua Zachariah.  >> Read the filing on Law.com Radar and check out the most recent edition of Law.com's Who Got the Work?℠ column to find out which law firms and lawyers are being brought in to handle key cases and close major deals for their clients.

ON THE RADAR - Princeton University was hit with a lawsuit Tuesday in New Jersey District Court arising from the institution's requirement that employees receive COVID-19 vaccinations. The lawsuit was brought by Vlasac & Shmaruk on behalf of a budget analyst who contends that she was terminated for requesting an exemption on religious grounds. Counsel have not yet appeared for the defendant. The case is 3:22-cv-05069, McKinley v. Princeton University et al. Stay up on the latest deals and litigation with the new Law.com Radar. 

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