Case Study: LHH Helps Our Client Achieve Mansfield Certification

Business Challenge

When the legal department of our client — a Fortune 500 Global organization based in Dublin, Ireland, specializing in information technology services and consulting — sought to obtain a Mansfield Certification, they turned to LHH for expert assistance.

Mansfield Certification, designed by Diversity Lab, is a structured and rigorous certification process that helps that sets a high standard for fostering equitable opportunities for leadership advancement within legal departments and external counsel teams. Achieving this certification is no small feat — it requires legal departments to implement a behavioral science and data-driven approach to expanding the pool of qualified leadership candidates, ensuring that at least 50% come from historically underrepresented groups. These groups include women lawyers, racial and ethnic lawyers, LGBTQ+ lawyers, and individuals with disabilities. Additionally, certified legal departments must enhance transparency by documenting and publicly sharing the criteria for senior-level roles.

Given the complexity of the process, our client knew that obtaining this particular certification would demand the finesse and expertise of skilled specialists.

Solution

An imperative of the process was to help track the diversity of applicants submitted for consideration and to ensure that there was no bias during the hiring decision. Therefore, our solution consisted of the following components:

• All resumes submitted to our client were scrubbed to contain no name, educational experience, or other identifying information.
• Each applicant linked to the job order within Bullhorn, our applicant tracking system, received an anonymous survey requesting gender and race disclosures.
• LHH submits a document detailing each job order and the survey responses associated with it on an annual basis.

To support our client's goals, LHH leveraged a wide range of candidate sources and meticulously tracked candidate and associate pools. This approach enabled the legal team to meet the rigid requirements needed for Mansfield Certification and ultimately foster a more diverse and inclusive leadership team.

Results

After the first year, our client became Mansfield Certified, joining an exclusive list of organizations that meet the certification requirements. Some impacts to date:

• 50 legal departments certified in 2023
• Enhanced advancement opportunities and processes
• Improved candidate tracking and transparency

In today’s business landscape, organizations seek to build a workforce that not only champions DEI but embodies it wholeheartedly. Embracing the diverse perspectives and skills of employees from all backgrounds is not just the right thing to do — it’s critical for businesses that want to build a stronger, more adaptable, and more successful workforce of the future. Obtaining certifications such as the Mansfield can serve as a catalyst for advancing your business in its pursuit of more impactful DEI strategies. To benefit from our experience and create a DEI strategy that can make a real difference for your organization, please contact us today.