News Release
McGlinchey Achieves Mansfield Diversity Certification
Read Time: 2 minsMcGlinchey Stafford is pleased to announce that it has achieved Midsize Mansfield Certification. Following a rigorous 18-month process led by Diversity Lab from September 2021 to March 2023, this distinction certifies that McGlinchey aims to track, measure, and achieve diversity in law firm leadership. As participants in the second certification cohort, McGlinchey is among the first 100 firms to achieve this recognition to date in the U.S. and Canada.
“We know that moving the needle on equity and inclusion takes a deliberate, sustained effort,” said Michael Ferachi, McGlinchey’s Managing Member. “McGlinchey is committed to improving access and opportunities, not only within our firm but across the profession and in our local communities. This certification is one important milestone of the #McGlincheyForward initiative that we launched in 2021, and I am very proud of the path that the Mansfield program sets before us.”
The Midsize Mansfield Certification was tailored and launched in 2020 for firms with fewer than 150 lawyers that have smaller footprints, less formal leadership structures, and fewer hiring and leadership selections. The certification measures whether midsize firms have considered at least 30% women lawyers, underrepresented racial and ethnic lawyers, LGBTQ+ lawyers, and lawyers with disabilities for leadership and governance roles, equity partner promotions, formal client pitches, lateral lawyer hiring, and more. While working to achieve these benchmarks, McGlinchey has also embedded transparency into its advancement processes through written leadership role descriptions and clearly defined pathways to leadership.
“Becoming Mansfield certified represents the latest step along McGlinchey’s journey towards building a welcoming, supportive workplace where each employee is empowered to do their best work,” said Eliska Plunkett, Director of Human Resources and Chief Diversity Officer. “We are grateful for the tools and strategies Diversity Lab’s curriculum has provided that will support us in making meaningful change in terms of the representation and opportunities available at McGlinchey.”
This certification follows McGlinchey being named among the 30 “Best Law Firms for Women” by Firsthand’s 2023 Vault Survey, where it was ranked among some of the largest national firms, and earning the 2022 Top Performer and Compass Award designations by the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD). This marked the third time McGlinchey has received the Compass Award, the LCLD’s highest honor, and the firm has been honored as a Law Firm Top Performer every year since 2018. McGlinchey is proud that 50% of its office leadership roles and 30% of its executive Policy Committee roles are held by diverse attorneys.
“McGlinchey is always striving to improve our recruitment efforts and outcomes, and we’ve already seen advances in our hiring and retention since we began the Mansfield program,” said Margeaux Roush, Director of Talent Acquisition. “We look forward to implementing the new processes we’ve built throughout the certification journey and will continually seek to refine the ways we identify, vet, onboard, and promote our attorneys.”
In addition to the recognitions cited above, in recent years, McGlinchey has also rebranded and relaunched its LGBTQ+ affinity group, McGlinchey PRIDE, as well as Uplift, McGlinchey’s Women’s Initiative. In 2021, McGlinchey also established its Wellness Works program, which supports the health and well-being of all employees through programs that promote connectivity, education, and camaraderie. Click here for more on McGlinchey’s firm-wide activities to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion.