MARKS O’NEILL IS PROUD TO ANNOUNCE ITS MANSFIELD CERTIFICATION

The Mansfield Certification, facilitated by Diversity Lab, recognizes the structural changes and actions we have taken over 18-months to diversify leadership in our firm by broadening the slate of talent considered for internal leadership roles and increasing transparency with written and accessible advancement processes and role descriptions.

Why This Matters

The goal of Mansfield is to increase and sustain diversity in law firm leadership through a science-driven method that embeds accountability, transparency, and knowledge sharing into our talent practices. We know that with diverse leadership comes more inclusive and equitable decisions that reflect the needs of our diverse workforce for the benefit of our talent and clients.

What We Do in Practice

What does this mean in practice at our firm? Whenever our leaders make a decision about who to appoint to leadership roles we proactively consider a broad slate of talent including lawyers who are historically underrepresented in law. The same inclusive decision making takes place when we build a team to market to our clients. And, as part of Mansfield, we also work hard to ensure that our processes for advancement and the job expectations/qualifications for leaders at the firm are transparent. The Mansfield framework helps us ensure that we approach succession planning for the next generation of leaders in an inclusive, structured, and intentional manner consistently across offices. We are working to be more intentional about decisions we make as a firm from hiring to advancement within the firm.

Proof That It’s Working

As illustrated in a recent American Lawyer article, an extensive analysis by two data science professors shows Mansfield is succeeding at its intended purpose to diversify leadership at firms that stay committed long-term. We, too, have seen and experienced positive progress at our firm as we strive to bring on new talent to firm from diverse backgrounds. We are proud to continue committing to and engaging in this effort that insists on accountability and measurement year-over-year to show results.

Patricia Fecile-Moreland of MOODK’s Philadelphia office successfully handled the appeal of an order granting summary judgment in favor of MOODK’s client in the Court of Common Pleas of Montgomery County. The Trial Court granted summary judgment, holding that the Plaintiff failed to properly supplement the record with evidence which precluded summary judgment in favor of MOODK’s client. The Trial Court further concluded that the Plaintiff failed to comply with both the local rules of civil procedure and the appellate rules of civil procedure, further supporting the dismissal of the case. On appeal, the Plaintiff argued that the Trial Court erred in granting summary judgment because the Court failed to consider Plaintiff’s expert report which created a genuine issue of material fact. In the decision affirming the Trial Court, the Superior Court first concluded that Plaintiff failed to develop her claim that the expert report created a genuine issue of material fact precluding summary judgment, thus it was waived. Further, given the review is plenary, when viewing the record in its entirety including the Plaintiff’s expert report, the Superior Court opined that the expert’s opinions were based upon conjecture and not on facts or evidence in the record. Accordingly, the Superior Court affirmed summary judgment in favor of MOODK’s client.