I, Barbaros Karaahmet, personally commit to the following:

Personal Commitment 

• As Chief Operating Partner at Herrick, I continuously strive to lead by example by fostering a working environment of diversity, inclusion, and belonging, where everyone can realize their full potential.
• I will use my position as a leader to advocate for diversity efforts and empower others in the Firm to serve as leaders in these critical efforts.

Organizational Commitment 

Executive Committee Commitment 

• Herrick’s Executive Committee will work to recruit, retain and promote diverse attorneys who can contribute unique perspectives and experiences to our practice. We have implemented a Diversity Plan which requires each department to nominate a diverse partner(s) to mentor, develop, and oversee diversity within the department. The Diversity Partner reports quarterly to their respective Department Chair(s). We have set measurable goals and continuously check in to see how we can support the various teams in achieving the Firmwide diversity goals.

Diversity Committee Commitment 

It is through engaging all attorneys and legal staff, including our diverse attorneys, that we can best refine our efforts to promote a diverse and inclusive community within Herrick and bring to light and work through potential concerns. That’s why the Executive Committee encourages active participation in the Diversity Committee from anyone at Herrick who would like to join. The Diversity Committee meets at least quarterly to continue to ensure consistency and engagement. The committee is tasked with:

• Promoting social accountability of Herrick as a whole;
• Creating metrics to measure progress and performance, including on hiring, retention, promotion, and assignment of work, among other areas, to promote transparency, objectivity, and accountability; 
• Reviewing and developing policies and procedures that promote workplace diversity and inclusion; 
• Organizing attorney-wide trainings and regular conversations on the benefits of diversity, promotion of inclusion and equity, and reducing unconscious biases; 
• Promoting existing policies and procedures for employees to report workplace issues and creating new policies and procedures as appropriate, such as an anonymous hotline for grievances.

Firmwide Commitment

• At Herrick, our goals are to create a culture of diversity, inclusiveness, respect, camaraderie and cooperation that permeate our activities. Diversity and inclusion are part of our core values because we view this as imperative to a law firm’s success in today’s global climate. To that end, we make recruiting, retaining and promoting diverse attorneys a priority of the Firm.
• We also work hard to bring increased sensitivity and awareness to workplace related diversity issues, so that our attorneys, employees and clients can collaborate effectively and benefit from our diverse backgrounds and perspectives.
• We also strive to promote our culture and our commitment to diversity, so that attorneys of all levels will know that Herrick is a place where they can grow and prosper.
• As Chief Operating Partner, I affirm Herrick’s commitment to create an inclusive, welcoming environment rich in diversity where all attorneys and staff can live and work authentically.