I, Thomas Fitzgerald, personally commit to the following:

Personal Commitment 

• Center diversity, equity, and inclusion in all aspects of the firm’s operations, including the formal strategic business plan.
• Dedicate time and energy to supporting the recruitment of diverse lateral partners.
• Appoint/promote diverse partners to senior leadership positions throughout the firm.
• Sponsor diverse associates through the firm’s Diversity and Inclusion Associate Sponsorship Program.
• Require a diverse slate of candidates for all partner hiring and promotion decisions.
• Maintain open dialogue with diverse lawyers and staff, affinity groups, D&I Committee, and Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer.
• Continue to address difficult issues of racial justice inside and outside the firm, including through the establishment of the Racial Equity Taskforce and the Pro Bono CEASE Initiative.
• Partner with external organizations and clients that share our commitment to DEI to advance our mutual goals.
• Model inclusive leadership.
• Continue to learn about DEI and how to use my position to be an ally.

Organizational Commitment 

• Continue to meet and exceed the criteria for Mansfield Rule certification every year. 
• Make DEI a formal part of partner hiring decisions. 
• Mandate training on unconscious bias for all lawyers and staff.
• Provide attorneys with creditable hours for eligible DEI activities.
• Raise the internal and external visibility of diverse lawyers.
• Make enhancing diversity, equity, and inclusion one of the goals in the firm’s formal strategic business plan.
• Require every partner, through their individual business development plan, to commit to taking two action steps each year to advance the firm’s DEI goals.
• Measure and reward inclusive staffing.
• Increase meaningfully the representation of underutilized lawyers at every level of the firm.
• Create new affinity groups for caregivers, veterans, and differently abled lawyers and staff. 
• Expand the firm’s participation in legal and non-legal pipeline programs. 
• Include the staff more meaningfully into the firm’s DEI initiatives, including through the creation of staff affinity groups, a Diversity and Inclusion Ambassadors Program, and a Diverse Staff Sponsorship Program. 
• Establish an internal Black Partner Initiative focused on ensuring that, among other things, Black partners are fully utilized and successful, and the pipeline of Black associates is robust.