Desiree Ralls-Morrison

As a member of McDonald’s leadership team and its general counsel, I commit to championing diversity, equity, and inclusion in the Legal Department, throughout McDonald’s, and throughout the legal industry:

• I will lead by example to ensure that DEI is embedded into my department’s — and the company’s — strategy, values, and culture.
• I will use my voice to promote DEI and seek to amplify the voices of diverse employees and others committed to DEI throughout the organization.
• I will help execute McDonald’s Global DEI strategy to represent the diverse communities in which we operate; accelerate a culture of inclusion and belonging; and dismantle barriers to economic opportunity.
• I will acknowledge those who work tirelessly to promote DEI, not just in my department and at McDonald’s, but throughout the legal industry and beyond.
• I will hold myself and my department accountable for efforts towards increasing diversity within the Legal Department, including among senior leadership, as well as efforts towards increasing engagement with diverse outside attorneys and suppliers. I will monitor our progress towards hiring and supplier goals and ensure that our team has the tools, resources, and guidance to identify, attract, and retain diverse talent.
• I will endeavor to identify talented individuals, including diverse individuals, on my team for mentorship, sponsorship, and promotion opportunities, and will urge my direct reports and other senior leaders in the department to do the same.
• I will serve as an ambassador and mentor for diverse talent throughout the legal industry. As part of this commitment, I will seek out mentorship opportunities with diverse law firm attorneys and encourage their active participation on McDonald’s matters and their advancement opportunities within their organizations.
• I will continue my role as an ambassador and advocate for social justice and DEI in the broader community, including as a founder of the New Commonwealth Racial Equity and Social Justice Fund.

• McDonald’s will continue to encourage all of our key U.S. suppliers, including outside law firms, to sign on to the Mutual Commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (MCDEI) pledge, which is focused on the following:
  • implementation of an organization-wide DEI strategy, including annual training or education for employees to be better DEI practitioners and leaders.
  • implementation of efforts to increase representation of underrepresented groups in our company overall and in leadership roles.
  • implementation of equitable processes to ensure underrepresented groups are considered in staffing for McDonald’s business.
  • implementation of efforts to increase the use of diverse suppliers.
  • investing in innovation with new partnerships and programs designed to make a measurable difference and creating infrastructure accountability to track progress, share regular updates and best practices on effective programs and measurement.

• McDonald’s Legal Department will act in furtherance of its aspirational goals to attract diverse talent to better represent the communities in which we operate, including by continuing to use diverse candidate slates and interview panels.
• McDonald’s Legal Department will continue to seek out, recognize and support innovation in diversity, equity, and inclusion within the legal industry by incentivizing our outside law firms with our EMPOWER Award, which was created to recognize legal service suppliers that go beyond words and demonstrate, through action and innovation, that diversity, equity and inclusion matter to their organizations.
• McDonald’s Legal Department will continue to support and build our relationships with the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD), the Diversity Lab, the National Bar Association, Corporate Counsel Women of Color, National Employment Law Council (NELC) and other minority organizations.
• McDonald’s Legal Department will continue to participate in the LCLD Fellows and Pathfinder program by sponsoring two Fellows and one Pathfinder each year.