I, David Djaha, personally commit to the following:

Personal Commitment

Advocacy

• Use my voice and leadership position to advocate for change aimed at dismantling systemic bias and advancing diversity, equity and inclusion in our firm, our profession and our community. Champion diversity in our strategy and actions and use metrics to track our progress.
• Continue to implement structural changes in our systems and processes aimed at improving the fairness and the equity of work assignments, hiring, and performance at all levels of our firm.
• Lead regular conversations with partners and others at the firm about our DE&I Strategic Plan and programs; continue to ask for their active engagement from all parts of the Ropes & Gray community.
• Meet annually with our Roscoe Trimmier Diversity Scholars and partners in our Diverse Partner Network to discuss their experiences at Ropes & Gray. Out of these shared experiences agree on changes to implement and plans to execute.
• Actively engage with other law firm and business leaders to share ideas about how we can increase diversity, equity and inclusion in our industries. Share best practices and lessons learned, including how to ensure diverse lawyers have the skills, tools and understanding for how to maximize their career advancement.
• Work to ensure that attorneys and support team members of diverse backgrounds are considered for leadership positions. Support diverse partners in high-profile client relationships.

Talent development

• Continue to engage with our Affinity Forums—the Ropes Multicultural Forum (and its associated affinity groups), the LGBTQ+ Forum and the Women’s Forum—and our forum allies to ensure that our diversity, equity and inclusion efforts are having a positive impact for the diverse members of our Ropes & Gray community.
• Mentor diverse partners through our policy committee initiative.

Organizational Commitment

• Continue our work with Out Leadership to further its commitment to building a more diverse business landscape that promotes best-in-class workplace policies opportunities for LGBTQ+ business professionals.

Advocacy 

• Continue to expand our racial justice pro bono opportunities network focused on addressing near-term racial injustice and longer-term systemic change.
• Seek opportunities similar to our charter membership in the Law Firm Antiracism Alliance to work across our industry to dismantle systemic racism through impact litigation and by amplifying the voices of communities oppressed by structural racism.

Recruiting and professional development

• Support strategies to improve our pipeline of diverse talent, including growing our partnerships with focused non-profit organizations and establishing relationships with students earlier in their academic careers.
• Work with our attorney and support-side recruiting teams to recruit diverse lawyers and support team members; engage with law schools and other academic institutions that provide exceptional educational opportunities to diverse lawyers and business professionals. 
• Provide ideas to lawyers to help them maximize the impact of our 100 hours of billable credit for DE&I efforts. 
• Maintain our 20-hour DE&I investment expectation for all attorneys.
• Encourage lawyers to participate in existing, innovative initiatives like the Ropes Advocate Mentor Program, which provides focused mentorship to diverse lawyers on their path to partnership. 

Clients

• Continue to work with our HR and staffing teams, as well as our partners, to ensure that that our teams mirror the diversity of our clients’ teams.
• Make the exploration of DE&I collaboration a more routine part of client meetings. Work to expand our partnerships with clients on DE&I initiatives and continue to support them on their own internal diversity initiatives.