Intellectual property law firm MBHB announced Tuesday that it has earned Mansfield Certification from the Diversity Lab. Named after Arabella Mansfield – America’s first female lawyer – the Mansfield Rule encourages law firms to consider at least 30% of historically underrepresented lawyers for leadership positions and activities, such as equity partner promotion, participation in formal client pitches and business meetings, and election or appointment to high-level firm governance positions.
“Diversity is a core value for our firm and a key enabler of our ability to help clients protect their innovations by securing and enforcing intellectual property rights,” said Daniel Pozdol, MBHB managing partner. “We’re proud to earn this recognition from the Diversity Lab, which validates our longstanding efforts to build a firm full of talented individuals with diverse backgrounds, viewpoints and experiences.”
Diversity Lab aims to use Mansfield to increase the representation of historically underrepresented lawyers in law firm leadership. MBHB participated in the Mansfield Rule for midsize law firms (defined as firms with between 25 and 150 lawyers in the U.S. and Canada), which launched in 2020.
“It’s a great accomplishment to receive Mansfield Certification,” said Jori Fuller, MBHB partner and co-chair of the firm’s diversity, equity and inclusion committee. “Participation in Mansfield enabled us to concentrate on key areas to improve representation of diverse individuals across our firm. As a result, we have made great strides in our efforts to assemble diverse and talented teams.”
To foster diversity at the firm, MBHB offers a Diversity and Inclusion Fellowship. Recipients of the fellowship join the firm as summer associates and are eligible to receive up to $20,000 toward law school tuition or other school-related expenses. MBHB also offers all practitioners billable hour credit for approved pro bono and diversity efforts.
“All of the certified firms stepped up as trailblazers to create more diverse and inclusive leaderships in the midsize firm sector,” said Alyssa Jarvis, senior manager of Mansfield at Diversity Lab. “Despite launching this change-management effort during a global pandemic among other marketplace disruptions, these firms were not deterred from tackling challenging talent systems changes to increase diversity in their firms and the profession. This is a truly committed group of firms and leaders who see the value in measuring what matters.”
About McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff LLP
McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff LLP (MBHB) provides creative, pragmatic IP business solutions for Fortune 100 companies, midsize companies, startups, and academic institutions. Clients in the U.S. and abroad engage us to secure and enforce their intellectual property rights, from navigating patent office procedures to litigating complex infringement actions. Our attorneys are experienced in the procurement, licensing, enforcement, and defense of patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, and unfair competition actions in a number of technological disciplines and product categories, including biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, cannabis, chemical, electrical, mechanical and materials, medical device and diagnostics, software and business methods, and telecommunications. Visit mbhb.com for more information on the firm.
