I, David Zapolsky, personally commit to the following:
Personal Commitment
- Use my voice to advocate for greater DEI: as general counsel, within my legal department, with the law firms with which we work, and in the legal profession; as a senior leader of my company, throughout our organization; and, as a citizen, in my community in my engagements with other leaders, government officials, and community organizations.
- Meet with at least five general counsels of other organizations to collaborate, share experiences and best practices, and take action designed to amplify voices and achieve meaningful change.
- Champion and help innovate to expand DEI initiatives in my department by meeting with our department’s Diversity Leadership Team at least once every quarter to brainstorm, set goals, listen to feedback, and review progress.
- Actively support and participate in initiatives of LCLD and other professional organizations and bar associations seeking to change the face of the legal profession and encourage members of our legal department to do the same.
- Seek out opportunities to actively listen, learn, and lean into difficult conversations and obtain the gift of constructive feedback from others.
Organizational Commitment
- Leverage our Diversity Leadership Team as partners in implementing a comprehensive and long-term DEI engagement strategy, including setting and achieving aggressive goals.
- Champion an inclusive workplace culture where lawyers and legal professionals feel like they belong and can bring their authentic selves, ideas, and work to deliver their best to our customers.
- Continue developing and incorporating DEI goals, inclusivity, equity, and accountability into department processes and strategic plans, including recruiting, retention, advancement, and leadership.
- Expand Amazon’s DEI sponsorship and partnership programs with law schools, bar associations, conferences, and other innovative diversity and inclusion programs such as the OnRamp Fellowship, the University of Washington Gregoire Fellows Programs, and the LCLD Fellows Programs.
- Empower and support contributions from across the entire department to drive DEI initiatives through Diversity Works and other innovative programs.
- Assess partner law firms based on the diversity of their leadership, including law firm management and compensation committees, and staffing on Amazon matters.
Metrics
Implement training goals requiring 100% department wide completion, and supporting mechanisms to ensure clarity of vision, shared purpose, and the ability to hold leaders accountable through metrics and progress reviews with senior department leadership.
Employ a metrics-based approach to systematically build relationships with outside law firms that achieve diversity goals and demonstrate a commitment to DEI. Those metrics will include: the average firm tenure of women and under-represented attorneys at the associate and partner levels; percentage of women and under-represented attorneys who hold leadership positions; the percentage of partner promotions for women and under-represented attorneys at the firm overall and among those who work with us; percentage of counsel who are women and under-represented attorneys at the firm overall and in their work with us; percentage of women and under-represented attorneys who are equity partners versus non-equity partners at the firm overall and among those who work with us.