Properly, that is how progress dies in Biglaw… with governmental posturing and an entire lot of institutional cowardice.
Range Lab introduced as we speak that it’s pausing the Mansfield certification program, the broadly adopted initiative designed to encourage regulation companies to think about numerous candidates for management roles. Due to the Trump administration’s newest weaponization of federal businesses, Mansfield certification is successfully being bullied out of existence.
The Federal Commerce Fee decided to flex by sending warning letters to 42 Biglaw companies, suggesting that participation in Mansfield certification may violate antitrust legal guidelines. Which, to be clear, is under no circumstances how antitrust works. Precise antitrust consultants say this system doesn’t run afoul of competition law. However that doesn’t matter whenever your goal is intimidation, not authorized accuracy.
Biglaw, famously courageous when billing $2,000 an hour, is seemingly far much less brave when requested to face as much as an administration overtly hostile to range initiatives and completely keen to sic the FTC, DOJ, and EEOC on anybody who steps out of line. Fairly than battle — for the regulation, for their very own prior commitments, or for range itself — companies blinked.
And so the harm landed squarely on Range Lab.
“The FTC’s public assertion has triggered greater than 30 press articles in a single week, and prompted a whole lot of involved emails from purchasers,” Range Lab founder Caren Ulrich Stacy wrote in a letter to purchasers reported by Law.com. “We’ve retained a senior antitrust lawyer from a prime 50 agency with deep FTC expertise and are working with them to teach the company on Mansfield. However I worry the harm is already finished.”
Stacy defined that the Trump administration’s scrutiny has led to “many purchasers” pausing their work with Range Lab, which has “considerably depleted” the group’s working funds.
“With this darkish cloud hovering, many purchasers are pausing their work with us,” she wrote. “Our working funds have already been considerably depleted by the necessity to answer Government Orders, DOJ law-firm lawsuits, and EEOC letters to regulation companies. With little to no near-term income to cowl bills, we’re involved about our future.”
One regulation agency range chief summed it up bluntly, “Dissatisfied, heartbreaking wouldn’t be hyperbolic. The group has been such a long-standing advocate for range within the business.”
And that’s the true takeaway right here. Mansfield certification didn’t fall as a result of it was illegal. It didn’t fall as a result of it failed. It didn’t even fall as a result of the federal government proved its case (it hasn’t). Mansfield certification fell as a result of Biglaw determined that range was not definitely worth the danger of annoying the Trump administration.
Stacy says Range Lab will proceed to maintain purchasers “posted as we battle this newest effort to dismantle progress.” And that is what dismantling progress appears to be like like in 2026. Regulatory bullying, bad-faith authorized theories, and a occupation too risk-averse to push again.
It’s a darkish day in Biglaw.
