PBCBA BAR BULLETINS pbcba_bulletin_May 2019 | Page 11

DIVERSITY C o r n e r
Revisiting the Mansfield Rule:
A Profile of Program Participants
DENISE MUTAMBA
In the March 2019 edition of the Diversity
Corner, we reviewed the Mansfield
Rule. We discovered that the Mansfield
Rule measures whether law firms have
intentionally considered women, attorneys
of color, and attorneys who identify as
LGBTQ+ for leadership, governance, and
lateral positions. The rule requires thirty
percent of the candidate pool for these
positions to be comprised of women,
attorneys of color, and attorneys who
identify as LGBTQ+. Of the forty-one pilot
participants, three (3) firms, Akerman
LLP, Day Pitney, and Arnold & Porter Kaye
Scholer LLP, have offices in Palm Beach
County. In this article, we will take a look
at the firm-wide diversity initiatives of
these firms.
Akerman LLP has one (1) office in West
Palm Beach. According to its website,
the office has over forty (40) attorneys;
approximately one-half of those attorneys
maintain governance roles.
Nineteen
(19) men and eight (8) women fill those
positions. Using this information, about
one-third of Akerman’s West Palm Beach
office leadership is comprised of women
leaders. On its website, Akerman has an
entire page dedicated to “Inclusion” where it
details its honors and initiatives. In 2018, it
had a 100% rating on the Corporate Equality
Index. In 2016, it was ranked in the top 5
law firms for Hispanic lawyers and the top
40 law firms for female lawyers. Akerman
informs the public that it participates in
the Judicial Intern Opportunity Program
and the OnRamp Fellowship program.
Akerman also notes that it has established
the first minority legal pipeline and
scholarship program at Florida Agricultural
& Mechanical University (“FAMU”) Law
School. The Judicial Intern Opportunity
Program provides internships to students
who are members of racial, ethnic, LGBTQ+,
and other groups that are traditionally
underrepresented in the legal profession.
OnRamp is a program that targets
experienced women lawyers wishing to
return to practice after an extended hiatus.
Unlike Akerman, Day Pitney’s Palm Beach
County presence is small. Although it
has offices in Delray Beach, Boca Raton,
and West Palm Beach, according to its
website, a total of eight (8) attorneys work
in those offices. Of those eight attorneys,
four (4) maintain governance positions.
All four governance positions are held by
men. To learn more about Day Pitney’s
diversity initiatives, I visited the “Diversity
& Inclusion” page on its website.
Day
Pitney avers that diversity is one of its core
values, stating that it actively seeks people
of diverse backgrounds including people
with disabilities, people who identify as
LGBTQ+, and veterans. It also highlights
its affinity groups. Affinity groups are
groups of people connected by a common
characteristic, interest, or purpose. Day
Pitney highlights three (3) of its affinity
groups: (1) Day Pitney Attorneys of Color
(“DPAC”), which fosters an inclusive
environment that helps ensure the
success of minority attorneys; (2) Women
Working Together (“WWT”), which provides
mutual support, professional growth,
and community service opportunities to
women attorneys at the firm; and (3) the Day
Pitney Alliance, which provides an avenue
for Day Pitney employees, regardless of
sexual orientation or role within the firm,
to express support for and awareness of
the causes and concerns in the LGBTQ+
community.
Finally, Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP—
the only AmLaw 100 firm to participate in
the Mansfield Rule pilot program and have
an office in Palm Beach County. Arnold &
Porter’s West Palm Beach office has five (5)
attorneys. All the attorneys in this office
appear to be white men. Of those five (5)
attorneys, one (1) maintains a governance
role. Similar to Day Pitney, Arnold &
Porter highlights several affinity groups:
(1) Veterans and Affiliates Leadership
Organization (“VALOR”); (2) Pride; (3)
Attorney Community Championing our
Racial Diversity (“ACCORD”); (4) Parents
Network; and (5) Women’s Initiative for
Success and Empowerment (“WISE”). In
addition to these initiatives, Arnold &
Porter offers a scholarship in the amount of
$10,000 to first-year diverse law students, a
paid summer associate position in its Los
Angeles and New York offices that comes
with a $15,000 scholarship, and the A2
Immersion Program—a unique summer
associate position where the recipient
PALMBEACHBAR.ORG
11
spends half a summer in Arnold & Porter’s
San Francisco office and the other half of
the summer in Adobe’s headquarters.
According to the accomplishments and
initiatives documented on their websites,
these firms are championing diversity and
are likely to continue. They are examples
of the direction in which aspiring firms
should navigate to become more diverse
and cultivate more diversity in their firms.
Although these firms have accomplished
much, two (2) of the firms lack diversity
in the local market. To attract diverse
candidates to these offices, these firms will
have to do more than rely on their national
accomplishments.
Denise Mutamba is a Staff Attorney in
the Fair Housing Project of the Legal Aid
Society of Palm Beach County, Inc., where
she fights against housing discrimination.
She is also an elected representative to the
Young Lawyers Division Board of Governors
for the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit.
The Community Law Association CLE
Committee of the
Palm Beach Bar Association
Presents
30th Annual Community
Association Law Seminar
Friday, June 7, 2019
7:40 AM - 12:30 PM
Palm Beach Bar Association
1507 Belvedere Road
West Palm Beach, FL
5.0 CLER expected, plus ethics
$165.00 members
$205.00 non-members