As Rooney Rule Faces Scrutiny, How Will Law Firms' Mansfield Rule Fare?
The industry has seen some progress in representation since the Mansfield Rule was created. Still, room for improvement remains.
February 10, 2022 at 06:58 PM
6 minute read
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The Mansfield Rule, the standard intended to increase representation of women and minorities in law firm leadership, was created in the model of the NFL's Rooney Rule.
But following the recent lawsuit filed by former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores, the Rooney Rule is under a microscope. The rule has been criticized for its potentially performative nature and lack of tangible results relative to its directive.
That begs the question: Will the Mansfield Rule face scrutiny too?
Not Playing by the Same Rule
The Rooney Rule, enacted by the National Football League in 2003, requires that NFL teams interview at least one candidate from an underrepresented group of people for head coaching and senior football operations positions. However, it does not mandate a hiring quota or give hiring preference to underrepresented groups.
The rule was meant to increase diversity of people in senior positions for the NFL's 32 teams. The number of Black coaches was of particular concern—while 70% of the league's players are Black, there were only three Black head coaches in the NFL when the rule was enacted.
As of 2022, there are still just three Black head coaches.
While created with a similar intention, the Mansfield Rule seems to have more teeth than the Rooney Rule. Conceived during the 2016 Women in Law Hackathon and developed by Diversity Lab, Mansfield requires at least 30% of candidates interviewed for each leadership position be from underrepresented groups—not just one candidate for any particular position.
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