Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging

“I’m proud to lead a firm whose commitment to diversity and inclusion has been embedded in our identity and culture since our founding.”

--Steven D. Manning, Founding Partner

Diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging are not mere buzzwords – they’re in our DNA and are absolutely central to our firm’s founding principles and ongoing identity.

At Manning Kass, diversity is about leveraging the knowledge, insight, and capabilities of talented individuals from different backgrounds and experiences to benefit both our clients and the firm. It’s about bringing a multicultural perspective to business opportunities.

Most of all, it’s about action, not just words. You’ll find that we’ve put the pieces in place to create a stimulating, open-minded and progressive work environment where we respect and build on the strengths and potential of everyone here. Our actions have been recognized. For the third straight year, Law360’s Diversity 2023 Snapshot ranked us in the top ten for diversity in the top ranks among firms with 101 to 250 attorneys, with 22% of our equity partners identifying as minorities. This far outpaces the average percentage of minority equity partners at firms nationwide, which remains under 10%. Additionally, Lawyers of Color’s annual publication Black Student’s Guide to Law Schools & Firms placed us in the “Excelling” category, the highest in the study, for our diversity numbers and policies, and ranked us in the Aspire Diversity Award category in 2023. Our attorneys have been recognized for their DEIA, charity, pro bono, and leadership efforts by numerous publications and are in a variety of leadership and board positions for organizations looking to make a positive difference.

Some of our firm’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging initiatives and programs include:

Leadership and Management Strategic Framework
We recognize we must nurture and continue to grow a potent leadership pipeline through:

  • Sustaining a positive diversity and fairness climate in which all are accountable.
  • Being as diverse as the communities, industries, and companies we serve.
  • Leveraging diversity to achieve business results for our clients.

Leadership Hiring Policy
When hiring opportunities in leadership and management positions emerge, we aggressively pursue diverse pools of applicants by the use of search committees in conjunction with HR. Ultimately, our goal is to propel the upward career mobility of diverse staff and increase diverse hires in leadership and management positions.

Bias and Harassment Training
As part of our firm’s commitment to ensure a harassment-free workplace, we provide and require training for all managers and supervisors on all forms of prohibited harassmen

Supplier Diversity Program
We infuse inclusion and diversity in our procurement practices. It is our policy to hire/use vendors that are either local businesses and/or women/minority-owned, whenever possible.

Mentorship Program
All new attorneys are assigned an experienced attorney to mentor them, provide a wealth of knowledge and answer questions. While the program instructs the two to meet once a month, it more often than not happens much more frequently.

Flexible Work Policy
To fully support our employees, we provide flexible work schedules in the context of business requirements.

Still, there is much work ahead. We will continue to build a strong, diverse culture that sets an example for law firms nationwide.