I, Mark Nelson, personally commit to the following:

Personal Commitment 

• I will use my voice as a leader in my organization and in the profession to advocate for DE&I in the legal profession and in my community.
• I will partner with a law firm to host an LCLD Leadership Lunch and select at least two Fellows in attendance for follow-up conversations.
• I will meet annually with at least five other general counsels or law firm leaders to discuss how best to promote DE&I internally and among our legal service providers.
• I will partner with my senior leadership team to sponsor at least two underrepresented employees within my legal department each year.
• I will meet bi-annually with my department’s Fellows, Pathfinders, and Alumni to discuss their experiences within the organization and ask each participant to provide a recommendation for how we could improve.
• I will select two outside counsel firms and identify a specific early stage underrepresented partner/senior associate to be introduced in-depth to my company’s business to help facilitate their involvement in the legal work of the company.

Organizational Commitment 

• We will ensure that all underrepresented talent in my organization who wish to be mentored by more senior leaders within the organization are able to do so.
• We will present a Legal Diversity Speaker Series and also participate in third-party programs to enhance DE&I awareness and engagement within our department.
• We will assess top billing law firms to measure the diversity of firm management, leadership committees, partners, other staff, and diversity initiatives as the basis of bi-annual meetings to encourage marked improvement.
• We will track our direct spend with law firms that have certified diverse ownership on a quarterly basis and will explore initiating a program to track diverse subcontractor legal spend.
• We will encourage all hiring managers and interviewers in my department to take trainings regarding the business need for diverse talent/representation.
• We will require that diversity is considered in succession planning for internal legal leadership positions. 
• We will continue our participation in the Legal Employers Advancing Diversity in Washington (LEAD-WA) Program to offer summer internships to two law students from traditionally underrepresented groups.