I, Mitch Zuklie, personally commit to the following:
Personal Commitment
- During no less than 30 conversations with GCs of our clients during 2020 and 2021, discuss opportunities to collaborate to improve the diversity and inclusiveness of our profession
- Meet regularly with Orrick’s D&I Advisory Board (comprised of senior leaders of 7 clients and Professor David Wilkins, among others) to be guided by their input — and amplify their voices at Orrick and in our profession
- Host a virtual program for the LCLD Fellow Alumni Network and co-host a Leadership Lunch
- Personally sponsor two Orrick lawyers through the firm’s new leadership sponsor program
- Meet at least 2 times annually with the Black Lawyers of Orrick (BLOO) and implement their recommendations
- Take a stand in the market on driving change in our profession and our society – emphasize listening and concrete action
Organizational Commitment
- Continue as a founding firm of the Move the Needle Fund (MTN) to collaborate with the founding law firms and corporate legal departments, and work toward our firm-specific goal of ensuring that, by 2025, the teams serving an initial set of 40 target clients will comprise at least 55% diverse lawyers – including women, lawyers of color, and LGBTQ+ lawyers – with meaningful roles appropriate to their level of seniority
- Experiment with 5 science-backed bias interrupters – one in each business unit – and universally adopt those that are effective: i) equitable access to assignments, ii) team member engagement, iii) making connections, iv) before and after assignment reviews, and v) sponsorship facilitated by outside coaches (in collaboration with MTN)
- Provide a Management Committee or Board Sponsor for each Black or Latinx associate or of counsel (managing associate and more senior)
- Continue 1L Diversity Sector Fellowship summer program, places law students with Orrick for part of the summer and then on secondment with an Orrick client for the remainder of the summer
- Create at least 5 Orrick Racial, Social & Economic Justice Fellows, enabling experienced Orrick lawyers to devote a year to working full time for a community organization
- Continue equity analysis of partner compensation and senior leadership team annual review of progress of our Women’s and D&I Initiatives against defined metrics
- Sponsor virtual versions of the Bay Area Diversity Career Fair on January 8-9, 2021 and the Veterans Legal Career Fair on November 13, 2020 and cover the cost of employer participation for valued clients
- Partner with Dr. Arin Reeves to deliver regular training and coaching for sponsors, leadership team members and all lawyers and legal professionals
- Improve D&I programs for legal professionals (all staff who are not practicing lawyers)
- Integrate wellness and D&I initiatives (begun this year with bereavement leave after the killing of George Floyd)
Metrics
Diversity of our leadership team, our partnership, and our summer associate classes compared to our law firm peers serving the Tech & Innovation, Energy & Infrastructure, and Finance sectors
Improvement in client team diversity for an initial set of 40 valued clients
Diversity of candidate pools for leadership roles, partner promotions, formal client pitch opportunities, and senior lateral positions – and diversity of staffing of new engagements resulting from formal pitches (consistent with Mansfield Rule)