I, Gif Thornton, personally commit to the following:

Personal Commitments

• Lead from my position and platform as Managing Partner at Adams and Reese to advance our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion throughout our firm.  
• Communicate to fellow partners, practice group leaders, and administrators the benefits of a diverse team in providing excellent service to our clients.  
• Demonstrate daily our law firm’s core values of providing every client with excellence in service and results, understanding who they are and what drives them, and always striving to develop relationships based on trust. 
• Demonstrate that our firm is invested in and committed to an inclusive culture for the benefit of our people and our clients.  
• Strive to advance diverse attorneys into leadership roles at the firm. 

Organizational Commitments

• Continuing our 70-plus-year tradition of living the values and qualities that define Adams and Reese, illustrating our commitment to ensuring a culture of inclusion and mutual respect. 
• Investing in our people to help them succeed through the many programs, initiatives, and endeavors put forth by our Diversity Committee, that was formed in 1980. 
• Fully embracing our role as a Mansfield Rule 5.0 certified law firm.  
  Reducing unwelcome attrition of diverse attorneys at all levels. This effort includes increasing attorney engagement, training and mentoring towards excellence, increasing access to clients, and enhancing access to business development opportunities. 
• Recruiting new lawyers and lateral hires from diverse populations and encouraging diverse law students to consider careers in law through dedicated programs and resources. 
• Ensuring Adams and Reese includes diverse attorneys in RFP opportunities and implementing processes to track our performance.