I, Paul Schoeman, personally commit to the following:

Personal Commitment 

• I will use my voice to champion my firm’s DEI efforts and to ensure that DEI remains part of our firm’s overall business strategy.
• I will meet with representatives from the Diversity Committee and the Women’s Initiative on a semiannual basis in order to create and maintain open lines of communication with the stakeholders within my firm that are most actively engaged in advancing our DEI efforts.
• I will proactively reach out to clients to explore opportunities to partner on DEI initiatives and to create opportunities to introduce attorneys from backgrounds historically underrepresented in the legal profession.
• I will personally attend at least one DEI training sponsored by firm each year; for my personal development, and because I understand that my attendance demonstrates the importance of DEI education to the rest of my firm. 
• I will meet with diverse talent to help support them in their professional development. I will model this for other members of our leadership team.
• I will use my position to advocate for the incorporation of inclusive best practices into our hiring and promotion processes.
• I will communicate the importance of active support of DEI with our firm’s leaders, with an emphasis on inclusive mentoring and sponsorship of attorneys from backgrounds historically underrepresented in the legal profession.
• I will serve as a role model for inclusive talent development by staffing diverse teams.  My management style will be informed by inclusive best practices.

Organizational Commitment 

• We will encourage all partners to engage in recruitment for attorneys from backgrounds historically underrepresented in the law.
• We will ensure that we renew our membership in the Mansfield Rule and LCLD. We will select an LCLD Pathfinder and Fellow annually.
• We will commission our firm’s chief diversity and inclusion officer to work with our DEI stakeholders and firm leadership to create a comprehensive DEI plan with related metrics.
• We will create a lateral associate and partner hiring strategy that will work to ensure that attorneys from groups historically underrepresented in the legal profession are considered for all lateral hire positions.
• We will require that each practice group, with the assistance of the chief diversity and inclusion officer, prepare and present their DEI action plans on an annual basis.
• We will continue to support and provide resources for our Racial Justice Initiative and RJI Scholars Program.
• We will launch an allyship resource group, and ensure that our attorney mentorship program incorporates inclusive best practices.
• We will ensure that staff are included in our DEI professional development opportunities, understanding that an inclusive environment must be accessible to all members of our firm community.
• We will continue to promote education and engagement related to racial and social justice issues.