Beveridge & Diamond is proud to announce that, for the second consecutive year, we have achieved Mansfield Rule Plus Certification, indicating that our firm considers women, LGBTQ+, minorities, and lawyers with disabilities for at least 30% of all significant leadership roles, lateral recruiting, and business development opportunities. The “Plus” status signifies that B&D exceeds the baseline certification requirements - achieving 30% representation in firm leadership roles.

“We are very proud to have achieved Mansfield Plus certification for the second year in a row. This honor reflects our long-standing commitment to diversity and inclusion in our workplace and the profession. It is also a reminder of the work we all have left to do,” said Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) Committee Chair Nessa Coppinger (Washington, DC). “We look forward to continuing to lead and collaborate with our peers and clients on diversity, equity, and inclusion.”

“Beveridge & Diamond’s continued leadership on diversity and inclusion issues is more critical than ever. We are wholly committed to promoting social justice and equity in our firm and throughout the legal profession,” said Kathy Szmuszkovicz, B&D's Managing Principal. “Our participation in the Mansfield Rule initiative provides us valuable opportunities to learn, collaborate, and build even stronger programs to diversify our leadership and sustain a culture of inclusion.”

B&D’s participation in the Mansfield Rule program has allowed the firm to develop new processes and more thoroughly document and transparently report our progress. Among the results: diverse lawyers comprise 66% of our firmwide management committee, 48% of practice area leaders, and 46% of participants in new business proposals.

These numbers are in addition to the following B&D diversity achievements: 30% of our principals are women (compared to a national average of 20%); 59% of our lawyers are diverse (includes women, minorities, and LGBTQ+ individuals); 83% of the lawyers who joined the firm in 2019 were diverse.

This year, the firm’s D&I committee created an Anti-Racism and Allyship Resource Starter Kit to help foster learning and conversation about racism in the United States and its effects.

B&D participated in Diversity Lab’s Mansfield Rule 3.0 program, along with 100 other law firms, from July 2019 through July 2020. The program aims to increase the representation of diverse lawyers in law firm leadership by broadening the pool of candidates considered for these opportunities. Diversity Lab data indicate that participating firms are making significant progress in diversifying leadership within the legal profession. Building on our participation in 2019 and 2020, we have signed on with 117 other firms to participate in the Mansfield 4.0 initiative that began in July.

The firm participates in a number of diversity and inclusion efforts in addition to the Mansfield Rule, and we have been recognized for our leadership by organizations such as the Minority Corporate Counsel Association, the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity, and the National Association of Women Lawyers. B&D's Chairman Ben Wilson (Washington, DC) also is a leading advocate for diversity in the legal profession, having established the African American General Counsel and Managing Partner Networks in 2012 and founded the Diverse Partners Network in 2008.

Diversity and inclusion are core values at B&D. We are committed to fostering an inclusive culture that encourages and supports a diverse workplace by attracting, developing, retaining, and promoting to leadership diverse talent and creating equal opportunities for individuals to live up to their potential.

Learn more about our diversity and inclusion efforts and accomplishments or click here to read an open letter from the 4.0 Firms’ Chairs & Managing Partners.