I, Eric Iskra, personally commit to the following:

Personal Commitments

• I will use my voice as a leader in the legal profession to promote diversity, equity & inclusion through my leadership and participation in legal associations and seminars.
• I will use my position on the management committee of a super-regional law firm to advocate for impactful societal changes to remove barriers for women lawyers, racial and ethnic lawyers, LGBTQ+ lawyers, and lawyers with disabilities.  
• I will personally champion Spilman’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion plan within the firm, during strategic planning and budget making, in department meetings, and at firm retreats.
• I will advocate for diverse attorney inclusion on significant matters, on key client service teams, and in important pitches.
• I will work from a perspective of understanding my own privilege to ensure underrepresented lawyers are seen, heard, included, and valued for their diverse backgrounds and vantage points.

Organizational Commitments

• We will continue active, multidimensional recruitment of diverse attorneys and staff – via a network of inclusive law schools; clients; internal and external affinity groups; women, minority, LGBTQ+, and other affinity bar associations; and other city-wide law consortia – to ensure the percentage of historically underrepresented professionals at our firm continues to increase.
• We will analyze existing systems and policies for unintended and/or historic biases, including the firm’s work allocation system, the process for inclusion at firm events, the internal training programs, and the leadership appointment process.
• We will establish transparent processes for fairly providing support, training, networking, and mentorship opportunities to historically underrepresented professionals to ensure equal access to professional growth, advancement opportunities, client and matter originations, and leadership positions with the firm, including all compensation tied to these markers of professional success.
• We will develop and support internal DEI networks/affinity groups for minority, LGBTQ+, first generation, women, and disabled attorneys.
• We will incorporate hours recorded for DEI initiatives and individual DEI enhancement efforts into evaluation and compensation determinations.
• We will continue to support national diversity organizations and localized DEI efforts through firm participation, firm sponsorship, and financial contributions.
• We will allocate all necessary resources to ensure our DEI plan can be executed fully and effectively.