Including Veterans in DEI Programs

*This program is eligible for Elimination of Bias/Diversity and Inclusion CLE credit.*

The Mansfield Rule and other private diversity and inclusion programs have developed over the recent years to address a lack of diversity at the higher levels of law firms. The Mansfield Rule, as the best example, originated at the 2016 Women In Law Hackathon. The 2016 Women In Law Hackathon was a competition among nine teams “consisting of 54 high level law firm partners, 18 expert advisors, and 9 Stanford Law students.” Based on a review of publicly available media, none of the 81 law firm leaders, attorneys, consultants, and law students competing in the 2016 Women In Law Hackathon was a Veteran. Veterans are omitted from the “Mansfield Rule.” There is a well-grounded public policy rationale for advantageous treatment of women, persons of color, and those with disability based on a lattice-work of statutes, regulations, and state and federal court decisions. There is a developing public policy rationale for advantageous treatment of LGBTQ+ persons based on federal regulations and some state laws. There is no rationale for excluding Veterans from similarly advantageous treatment. This program will address the origin of private DEI programs and address how and why Veterans are omitted from these programs. The program will also discuss the public policy reasons for including veterans in DEI programs.