Diversity Lab
Diversity Lab was a for-profit diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) consultancy that worked with law firms to identify allegedly unjust bias in the talent development process. In June 2026, the Lab chose to shut down under pressure from the Federal Trade Commission, which alleged that its activities facilitated antitrust violations at law firms. 1 2
Contents
Activities
Diversity Lab identified alleged bias in legal talent development through the administration of over two dozen pilot programs at over 600 law firms. 2
Diversity Lab’s “hallmark” project was the OnRamp Fellowship, a program that matched lawyers who were taking a break from the field with legal departments to utilize their expertise and explore new applications for their legal background. The program placed 120 lawyers (one-third of whom were racial minorities) and 88 percent of fellows received long-term offers from their legal departments. Participating companies included Amazon and American Express. 3 4
In 2017, the Diversity Lab created the “Mansfield Rule,” defined as satisfying that least 30 percent of firm leadership consisted of women, racial minorities, or LGBT people. The Diversity Lab also created the Mansfield Certificate to be awarded to law firms that fulfil the Mansfield Rule. In May 2025, a federal court upheld the Mansfield Rule and Mansfield Certifications as valid within the context of antidiscrimination laws. 5
From January 2020 to December 2024, the Diversity Lab worked with numerous law firms on its Move the Needle Fund, a program that aimed to “de-bias systems in hiring, promotions, and other talent practices.” The Diversity Lab claimed that the Fund was essential for challenging systemic discrimination in the legal profession, as only 21 percent of partners at major law firms were women, and racial minority lawyers had a 33 percent higher attrition rate. The program set gender and racial benchmarks for hiring practices, monitored the demographics of participating law firms, and shared best practices for reducing alleged discrimination. 6
Leadership
The Diversity Lab was founded by Caren Ulrich Stacy, who established the group in October 2013 and ran it until 2025. In March 2017, Ulrich Stacy joined the board of advisors of the Centre for Legal Innovation, a New Zealand-based group that studies the intersection of law and technology, and she continues in that position as of June 2026. From 2022 to 2024, Ulrich Stacy was appointed by the Biden administration as the lead inclusion advisor of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. From 2017 to 2022, Ulrich Stacy was the vice president of policy and partnerships and on the board of the Silicon Valley Chapter of the U.S. National Committee for United Nations Women. 3
Prior to founding the Diversity Lab, Ulrich Stacy worked in the legal profession. She was an adjunct professor at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, co-founded legal talent development firm Lawyer Metrics, founded the Legal Talent Lab, and practiced law at numerous firms, most prominently Arnold and Porter LLP. 3
In March 2025, lawyer Angela Wolfe Kelley succeeded Ulrich Stacy as the CEO of the Diversity Lab until its closure in June 2026. 7
Closure
In January 2026, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sent warning letters to 42 law firms that had participated in Diversity Lab’s Mansfield Certificate program, through which Diversity Lab had assisted the law firms in pursuing talent development practices to reach 30 percent of leadership staff being female, racial minority, or LGBT. The FTC letter, which described the Lab as “a for profit DEI-consultancy business,” did not criticize the Lab or the Mansfield Certificate on antidiscrimination grounds, but rather on antitrust grounds, since the program encouraged law firms to share hiring practices, which could constitute a form of corporate collusion in the labor market. Letter recipients included Paul Weiss, WilmerHale, and Perkins Coie, all three of which were previously warned by the second Trump administration for allegedly engaging in discriminatory hiring practices. 8 9
The Diversity Lab defended the Mansfield Certificate program, claiming that it only acted in an advisory role to the law firms and there was no compulsion to fulfill minority quotas or share hiring practices between firms. Despite the FTC officially objecting to the Lab’s conduct on antitrust grounds, Reuters attributed the letter to the second Trump administration’s broader anti-DEI efforts in the federal government and major private institutions. 5 2 1
During negotiations between Diversity Lab and the FTC, the Lab preemptively shut down its operations in response to regulations the FTC was to impose on the Lab, including ending the Mansfield Certificate program, ceasing all sharing of law firm operation data between firms, and requiring annual performance reviews to be submitted to the FTC. In an article, Lab founder Caren Ulrich Stacy described the FTC’s actions as “meritless attacks by government agencies” and the decision to shutter the Lab as being “Not because we broke the law, but because we ran out of options and funds to defend ourselves.” 1 2