FTC Chairman Warns 42 Big Law Firms of Antitrust Concerns Over Mansfield Participation

The FTC’s Republican chairman, Andrew Ferguson, has sent warning letters to 42 large law firms expressing antitrust concerns about their participation in Diversity Lab’s Mansfield Certification program, but he has not alleged any violation or announced an enforcement action at this time.

What the FTC did

• On January 29–30, 2026, Ferguson issued nearly identical letters to 42 major firms that have been participating in the Mansfield Certification initiative run by Diversity Lab.

• The letters state that the FTC sees “serious concerns” and a “potential for liability under laws that the FTC directly enforces,” but they are framed as warnings and reminders of legal obligations, not formal complaints.

Why Mansfield is in the crosshairs

• The Mansfield Certification program requires participating firms to ensure that at least about 30% of the candidate pool considered for promotions and leadership roles is drawn from “underrepresented” groups (e.g., women, racial and ethnic minorities).

• Diversity Lab convenes regular “knowledge‑sharing” calls and meetings where competing firms discuss how they are implementing Mansfield criteria and share information about their DEI metrics.

The antitrust theory

• Ferguson’s letters argue that when competing firms coordinate on diversity benchmarks, share sensitive information about hiring, pay, and promotions, or agree on common quotas or targets, this can amount to collusion in a labor market in violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act and Section 5 of the FTC Act.

• The concern is that coordinated DEI standards might reduce competition for legal talent, depress wages, and influence who gets hired or promoted based on agreed‑upon demographic targets rather than independent firm decision‑making.

Who is affected

• The 42 firms named are among the largest in the U.S., collectively employing more than 50,000 attorneys; examples reported include Covington & Burling, Gibson Dunn, Davis Polk, Perkins Coie, WilmerHale, Latham & Watkins, Skadden, and Paul Weiss.

• Hundreds of other firms have received or pursued Mansfield Certification, but the FTC has, for now, singled out this subset with individualized warning letters rather than industry‑wide guidance.

What it means going forward

• The letters urge firms to review their participation in Mansfield, their interactions with Diversity Lab and with competitor firms, and to ensure their DEI efforts do not involve agreements on quotas, shared hiring benchmarks, or exchanges of detailed compensation or staffing data.

• The FTC explicitly notes that the letters are not findings of wrongdoing; however, they signal that coordinated DEI programs, especially those involving common metrics across competitors, are now a live antitrust risk area for Big Law and other professional‑services employers.