Kaufman Dolowich Earns Mansfield 4.0 Certification for 2021; Commits to Mansfield Rule 5.0 Which Expands Diversity & Inclusion Goals
(September 21, 2021, Woodbury, NY) — Kaufman Dolowich & Voluck LLP (KD) today announced that the Firm has achieved Mansfield 4.0 Certification for 2021, one of only 118 law firms nationwide to receive this recognition. The goal of the Mansfield Rule is to enhance the representation of historically underrepresented lawyers in law firm leadership. This is the third consecutive year KD has earned this status underscoring the Firm’s commitment to diversity and inclusion.
KD is participating in the Mansfield Rule 5.0 certification program which includes new goals for 2022 to further enhance diversity among its leadership. KD is one of 160 firms participating in Mansfield 5.0.
“To achieve Mansfield Certification status in a year dominated by COVID-19 is testament to the commitment the Firm has made to creating leadership roles and opportunities for our historically underrepresented attorneys,” said Katherine S. Catlos, KD’s Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer. “Our firm’s longstanding commitment to the Mansfield Rule is working. We are seeing successes within our law firm leadership.”
Tellingly, KD attorneys of diverse backgrounds elevated during the Mansfield 4.0 certification process included:
• Ashley Klein (San Francisco) to equity partner & managing partner, San Francisco office
• Iram Valentin (Hackensack, NJ) to equity partner
• Jeanne Grove (Sonoma) to managing partner, Sonoma office
• Lauren Jones (San Francisco) to partner
• Marrianne Taleghani (Sonoma) to partner
• Jessica Shafer (San Francisco) to of counsel
• Marcus Dong (San Francisco) to of counsel
The Mansfield Rule has become the standard by which law firms track and measure that they have affirmatively considered at least 30 percent women, lawyers from underrepresented racial/ethnic groups, lawyers with disabilities, and LGBTQ+ lawyers for top leadership roles, senior-level lateral hiring, promotions into the equity partnership, and participation in client pitch meetings.
“The Mansfield Rule has been a guiding principle for our firm’s diversity and inclusion commitment.” said Ivan J. Dolowich, co-managing partner of KD. “Thanks to the hard work of the entire KD D&I team, our firm is extremely proud to have been a part of Mansfield Certification these past three years and we look forward to achieving the new goals for Mansfield 5.0 in the coming year.”
New for Mansfield 5.0, firms are required to:
• Track their candidate pools in a disaggregated manner, prompting them to measure the impact of the Mansfield Rule by each underrepresented group. Firms must also include an option for Middle Eastern/North African identity, a demographic often overlooked by current self-identification options;
• Consider at least 30% underrepresented lawyers for nominations to Chambers USA to increase the external visibility of underrepresented lawyers with clients and in the marketplace more broadly; and
• Consider 30% underrepresented individuals when hiring and promoting C-level or other senior-level professional staff roles.
“While much has been achieved, there is much more yet to be done,” said Michael A. Kaufman, co-managing partner of KD. “Our firm is committed to its attorneys and clients and will remain focused on our diversity and inclusion efforts.”
About Kaufman Dolowich, LLP
Kaufman Dolowich & Voluck LLP is a leading national law firm now in its 35th year, serving a broad range of industries including labor & employment, professional liability, insurance coverage and litigation, data privacy & cybersecurity, financial services, commercial litigation, cannabis law, real estate, consumer financial services, construction, and general liability. Headquartered in Woodbury NY, KD attorneys represent national and global clients of all sizes from a dozen offices in six states: California, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. KD is a Mansfield Certified law firm in recognition of its diverse and inclusive employment strategies.
