International law firm Bird & Bird has once again achieved Mansfield Certification.
Run by Diversity Lab, an incubator for innovative ideas and solutions that boost diversity and inclusion in law, the Mansfield Certification is awarded to law firms who can demonstrate that at least 30% of the candidates considered for a number of key roles were defined as under-represented.
In order to achieve certification, Bird & Bird collaborated with Diversity Lab and contributed towards regular knowledge sharing calls with other firms participating in the initiative.
Bird & Bird successfully took part in the UK pilot programme in 2021/2022 and have continued to partner with Diversity Lab for the second and third iterations. Most recently, achieving certification for Mansfield Rule UK 3.0 which ran from July 2023 to July 2024.
Aylie Ewing, Chief People Officer at Bird & Bird said: “We believe it’s really important that our hiring and promotion processes give everyone a fair chance to join us and develop their careers at the firm which is why we are pleased to take part in Mansfield Rule 4.0. Becoming certified gives us the opportunity to review our process and see what more we can do to ensure we’re on track to meet our ambition of being a diverse and inclusive workplace.”
Zoe Feller, Partner, London Management Team and Co-Chair of the London D&I Committee added: “We are proud that we were one of the first law firms to sign up to the Mansfield Rule in 2021, and that we have achieved certification for the third consecutive year. We recognise how important this initiative is, as one of the tools we use to we work towards a more inclusive and diverse legal profession. We look forward to the challenge of Mansfield 4.0.”