Dev Stahlkopf

In order to advance diversity and inclusion within both my organization and the legal profession more broadly, I personally commit to:

• Reinforcing a culture in the Legal Department that encourages employees to come to and leave work each day feeling that they have been authentically and visibly who they are, and by ensuring that employees feel valued, heard, and empowered;
• Continuing to grow my personal D&I acumen, including in being an effective ally, by participating in forums with law firms, law schools, and other corporate legal departments to share best practices, by participating in diversity-focused events, and by participating in reverse mentoring;
• Publicly demonstrating my commitment by using my platform to advocate for greater diversity in the legal profession and for the removal of systemic barriers to entry and advancement, through public engagements, by leveraging my professional network, through continued participation in and sponsorship of conferences and diverse bar events, and by advancing policies and initiatives to support this goal; and
• Serving as executive sponsor for Cisco’s LCLD member relationship and Cisco’s internal LCLD network.

As Cisco’s Chief Legal Officer, I commit that as an organization we will:

• Foster a culture of diversity and inclusion by:
  • Expecting every employee in the Legal Department to understand their role in supporting our Legal Department Mission and Cisco’s Social Justice Beliefs and Actions, and personally commit to being an active participant in fostering a diverse and inclusive organization;
  • Facilitating and encouraging employees to get proximate to those with different lived experience by participation in diversity, inclusion, and allyship activities, programs, and employee resource organizations, including diversity speaker series, Multiplier Effect sponsorship, and other community events; and
  • Championing investments that advance the Legal Department’s inclusion acumen, psychological safety, well-being, allyship, and empathy so that we can continue to learn and grow as a community.
• Drive accountability for diversity & inclusion by:
  • Relying on diversity data to inform our progress on diversity within our Legal Department;
  • Setting diversity-related goals to help hold ourselves accountable for progress within the Legal Department; and
  • Driving leader and manager accountability for D&I and career development by making D&I a factor in leader performance expectations.
• Continue to increase diverse representation within my organization by:
  • Maintaining policies and practices to increase diversity in hiring, including posting positions externally and requiring diverse slating and interview panels;
  • Ensuring that diverse succession plans are in place for all senior roles in my organization; and
  • Embracing a multi-geography talent strategy and a flexible/hybrid workplace model that enhances recruitment and retention from a robust, national and/or global talent pool of qualified professionals.
• Ensure equal opportunity within my organization by:
  • Ensuring processes are in place to promote equal opportunity in the Legal Department, including transparent selection criteria and approaches for management positions and increasing focus on diverse project teams;
  • Creating increased transparency for career development opportunities; and
  • Continuing to be diligent about the consideration of all qualified employees for promotion and other employment decisions.
• Help advance diversity in the legal profession through our focus on legal supplier diversity by:
  • Expanding our pipeline of WMBE firms, with a particular focus on Black and Hispanic/Latinx owned firms.
  • Partnering with law firms doing substantial work for Cisco to help advance diversity at all levels of their organizations and to ensure that there is diverse representation within the law firms teams working on our matters and diverse relationship partner engagement.

To learn more about Dev, click here.