I, Thomas Cole, personally commit to the following:

Personal Commitment

• I will continue to work with the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) team to invest in the resources and support needed, such as our recent firmwide third-party diversity assessment; and to implement recommendations, programs, and initiatives aligned with our DEI action plan in response to racial and social injustice. 
• Following the creation of our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Partner leadership position, I will meet bi-annually with the firm’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Partners and other practice group leadership to provide support, hear feedback, and discuss recommendations to improve DEI efforts at the practice group level.
• I will sponsor one historically underrepresented junior attorney and one historically underrepresented junior partner each year. As part of this sponsorship, I will ensure that each attorney receives a concrete developmental opportunity and internal or external visibility to firm leadership or clients each quarter.
• I will seek feedback from our firm’s Fellows, Pathfinders, and Alumni to discuss their experiences within the firm, and invite each individual to provide recommendations on improving our culture and support for historically underrepresented attorneys.

Organizational Commitment

• Troutman Pepper will continue to implement the goals of its action plan to fight racial and social injustice.
• Troutman Pepper will commit to implementing recommendations from its DEI assessment and measuring our progress on a quarterly basis.
• Troutman Pepper will increase the percentage of historically underrepresented equity partners at the firm.
• Troutman Pepper will continue to pursue Mansfield Rule Certification and expand the application of the Mansfield’s criteria to create more opportunities for hiring, leadership, and promotion for historically underrepresented attorneys. 
• In setting partner compensation, Troutman Pepper will continue to consider each partners’ personal contributions to DEI efforts and initiatives, including, but not limited to improving the diversity of client matter teams, designating underrepresented attorneys to serve in significant client relationship roles, and developing succession plans to ensure historically underrepresented attorneys inherit client relationships.  
• Troutman Pepper will create a comprehensive lateral associate and partner recruiting strategy aimed at identifying diverse talent and ensuring candidates from underrepresented groups will be considered for all lateral hires. 
• Troutman Pepper will ask all attorneys to make a personal commitment to take at least one action per month to support and promote DEI initiatives at the firm.
• Troutman Pepper will recognize Juneteenth as a firm holiday and will continue to promote action and education related to racial and social justice issues.