I, Roger Stetson, personally commit to the following:
Personal Commitment
- I will lead and commit the firm’s Management Committee to support the development of a DEI training program that, beginning in 2023, will be mandatory for all attorneys and staff.
- Working with the practice group leaders of each of our core practices, I will ensure that diverse attorneys are getting the opportunities to work on matters that will advance their skills and careers effectively.
- I will actively participate in the succession planning for practice group leadership, as well as client relationships, to ensure they include historically underrepresented individuals.
- I will identify and sponsor a LCLD Fellow and/or a Pathfinder annually.
- I will meet, on a quarterly basis, with our firm’s Fellows, Pathfinders, and Alumni to learn more about their experience in the program and get their feedback on our efforts.
Organizational Commitment
- The firm will achieve Midsize Mansfield Rule certification in 2023.
- The organization commits to working with diverse talent pipeline organizations that recruit and support diverse talent and who can assist our efforts to meet our goals to consider and retain diverse talent.
- We will pursue the establishment of an internal task force to implement a Corporate Social Responsibility (“CSR”) program that considers all CSR involvement throughout our firm (charitable/educational Board service, DE&I efforts, individual volunteer work, etc.) to both highlight and support our collective contributions.
- We will encourage ongoing volunteerism firmwide by creating more opportunities for our attorneys and staff to volunteer at the firm’s partner organizations through the BFKN Foundation.
- We will focus on supporting diversity initiatives that blend our goals with those of our clients and create opportunities for collaboration across our entire firm (including staff members) with our clients’ teams.
- We will be intentional in our review and assessment of our firm’s diverse lawyer retention and path to promotion opportunities to ensure we provide a supportive and encouraging environment for our diverse lawyers to stay and build their careers.
- We will continue to be intentional in ensuring that DE&I is a consideration in major firm decisions including hiring, staffing, policies, partner admissions, succession planning, and business development initiatives.