DEI Honors and Awards

Haynes Boone achieved Mansfield Rule 6.0 Plus certification after completing a rigorous 12-month collaboration with Diversity Lab. The firm also earned the additional Mansfield Certification Plus designation, reserved for firms that voluntarily measure the outcomes of their inclusive processes and have achieved positive results.

The Mansfield Rule is a structured certification process which is designed to promote a fair and equal opportunity to advance into leadership for all talent at participating firms. Mansfield is focused on broadening the talent pool for consideration, including those historically underrepresented in the legal profession, to facilitate transparent pathways to leadership.

Bloomberg Law recognized Haynes Boone for its demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) by naming the firm to its 2023 DEI Framework.

Our firm is among 55 U.S.-based law firms recognized in the DEI Framework for their level of disclosure of diversity-related metrics and distinguished performance against five core pillars: leadership and talent pipelines, recruitment and retention, business innovation and strategy, bias and harassment training, and diverse branding. 

This is the second consecutive year for Haynes Boone to be listed in Bloomberg Law’s DEI Framework.

The DEI Framework was developed in 2021 in collaboration with Bloomberg’s Gender-Equality Index team, as well as diversity leads at corporations and law firms. Performance is assessed across more than 85 metrics, each associated with one of the framework’s five benchmarks. The methodology and selection criteria are reviewed and updated annually to ensure alignment with industry trends, methodologies, and best practices.

The Leadership Council for Legal Diversity (LCLD) has recognized Haynes Boone as a leader in inclusivity in the legal profession with its 2023 Compass Award, which honors law firms and corporations for their involvement in LCLD and the promotion of LCLD’s mission of an inclusive legal profession. LCLD includes more than 450 corporate chief legal officers and law firm managing partners focusing on building a more equitable and diverse legal profession.

The Compass Award requires a firm or company to meet several key objectives. 

• It must have a managing partner or general counsel take part in the organization. 
• A firm also needs to nominate diverse and high-potential mid-career and early-career attorneys who will benefit from increased leadership and relationship-building training. 
• Finally, a firm or corporation must offer mentorship or professional skills training for first-year law students.

The Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD) has named Haynes Boone a 2022 Top Performer and Compass Award winner in recognition of its strong commitment to DEI initiatives within the firm and the legal profession.

Founded in 2009, LCLD is one of the nation’s leading organizations promoting diversity and consists of more than 430 corporate chief legal officers and law firm managing partners. The Top Performer Award recognizes organizations in the top 20% for participation in LCLD programs and activities. The Compass Award recognizes those individuals and organizations that fulfill all of the following requirements in a single calendar year:

• Member attendance at the LCLD Annual Membership Meeting and/or Member attendance at a Leadership Summit and/or submission of a Leader’s Pledge
• Participation in the LCLD Fellows and Pathfinder Programs
• Participation in an LCLD Pipeline Program (the 1L Scholars Program or the Success in Law School Mentoring Program)

In February 2024, the American Bar Association bestowed its annual 2024 Alexander Award for Excellence in Pipeline Diversity, sponsored by the ABA’s Council for Diversity in the Educational Pipeline, upon Haynes Boone.

The accolade acknowledges outstanding leadership in pipeline initiatives, recognizing firms and individuals who support success through all levels of the educational journey, beginning with mentorship of elementary school students through law school and into the professional practice of law.

At Haynes Boone, the Pipeline Initiative Network works to expose diverse students of all ages to the legal field in the interest of developing a talented legal workforce that represents an array of backgrounds and perspectives.

Haynes Boone received a Bronze DEI Leadership Seal from the State Bar of California in 2023. The DEI Leadership Seal Program recognizes California-based legal employers who implement research-driven actions that further diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace and in the legal profession.

Haynes Boone ranked 21st nationally in The American Lawyer’s 2023 Diversity Scorecard, published by ALM Media, which graded 228 American law firms by the diversity of their attorney populations.

The American Lawyer takes a nuanced approach to these rankings, including firms’ “percentage of racial and ethnic diversity across lawyer headcount by role; leadership of the executive committee, offices and practice and industry groups; and their hiring, retention and promotion of diverse talent.”

In the recently released 2023 Chambers Associate survey (Chambers & Partners), Haynes Boone ranked among the nation’s top 25 firms, as measured by associate satisfaction with their firms’ commitment to DEI.

More than 90 percent of associates surveyed felt positive about Haynes Boone’s DEI recruitment efforts, Chambers reported. “Retention is also a focal point,” Chambers added, quoting an associate who said: “Women at all levels take maternity leave; the firm is very accommodating and wants us to have long careers here.”

Haynes Boone ranked as the 19th best firm for “overall diversity” and the seventh best firm in “diversity for women.” Vault ranks firms based on market feedback and analysis, along with surveys sent to associates at firms across the country. 

For a fourth consecutive year, Haynes Boone has earned a 100 percent rating in the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation’s Corporate Equality Index and the distinction of being one of the “Best Places to Work for LGBTQ Equality.”

The Corporate Equality Index (CEI) is a national benchmarking tool that measures policies, practices and benefits provided to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) employees.

Helping drive the firm’s DEI efforts is the Attorney Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee (ADEIC), which comprises partners, associates, counsel and key members of professional staff.. The ADEIC assists in implementing the firm’s policies and programs related to the recruitment, retention, promotion, and professional development of diverse lawyers, including the next generation of diverse lawyers the firm hopes to recruit to the legal profession.

 

Haynes Boone achieved Mansfield Rule 6.0 certification after completing a rigorous collaboration with Diversity Lab. The Mansfield Rule is a structured certification process which is designed to promote a fair and equal opportunity to advance into leadership for all talent at participating firms. Mansfield is focused on broadening the talent pool for consideration, including those historically underrepresented in the legal profession, to facilitate transparent pathways to leadership.