Strategic Plan for Diversity and Inclusion

MISSION STATEMENT:

The “Mission, Vision, Values and Strategic Plan” of Locke Lord establishes Diversity & Inclusion as a Core Value of the Firm. To that end, diversity of perspective and background shall be a measurable element of Firm operations. Firm processes and Firm structures shall be routinely scrutinized to preserve equal access to advancement opportunities and the Firm commits itself daily to maintaining an inclusive environment at all levels, across all offices, and for all communities.

VISION STATEMENT:

Locke Lord prioritizes a work environment whose levels of belonging, inclusion and productivity generate unparalleled innovation, uncommon collaboration, and responsive and relevant client solutions.

ACTION PLAN:

To move from mission to measurable progress, Locke Lord commits to the following actions. Where “diverse” or “diversity” is referenced in this Action Plan, it shall mean gender, LGBTQ+, ethnic/minority, disability, and/or intersectional (e.g., a gay Asian woman or a Black man who lives with a disability) demographic categories.

Internal Initiatives:

• Annually conduct a Firm-wide engagement survey with high-level results that are: (1) shared broadly throughout the Firm for information and transparency, and (2) used to develop a minimum of two action items for change/improvement to be executed within the year immediately following the survey’s conclusion.
• An annual diverse attorney retreat or similar opportunity (e.g., diversity dinners) for the Firm’s diverse attorneys to meet in person to network across offices, across practice groups, and with members of the Firm’s Office Managing Partners, Department Chairs, Board of Directors, and/or Executive Committee.
• Annual Diversity Learning – The Firm will continue to require annual participation in diversity training for all members of the Locke Lord employee community.
• No later than 2023, revive the diverse attorney mentor program, adding increased structure and rigor around mentor-mentee assignments (including an option for external pairings), participant training, and metrics of success (e.g., frequency of pairing contact, mentee goal/professional development, etc.).
• Pay Equity - In even calendar years, beginning 2024, conduct a Partner-focused pay equity study to ensure equitable pay practices across all genders and all ethnic groups.
• No later than 2024, the Firm will develop and implement an internal process to evaluate the client teams of its top 50 clients to increase leadership opportunities for diverse attorneys with a goal of 30% diversity in client leadership and 40% diversity in client team participation.

External Initiatives:

• No later than 2025 the Firm will establish a diverse supplier (vendor) program with the goal of increasing by ten percent (10%): (1) the number of diverse vendors, and (2) the spend with diverse vendors for each of the subsequent five (5) years.

Firm Leadership:

• Immediate appointment of an Executive Committee member to serve on the Firm-wide DEI Committee. To ensure broad and steady engagement between the Firm-wide Diversity Committee and the Executive Committee, the identity of the Executive Committee member assigned to the Firm-wide DEI Committee shall rotate each calendar year.
• Starting in 2024, the Firm will require the Chairs or Co-Chairs of each Department to prepare and present to the Executive Committee and publish to their Department an annual DEI action plan that (1) establishes leadership pathing/training for diverse lawyers in their Department and/or on Firm committees, (2) establishes diversity goals for client team participation, and (3) identifies at least one DEI developmental opportunity in which they (i.e., the Department Chair or Co-Chair) will participate (e.g., active engagement with a local diverse bar, authoring/co-authoring a DEI article, speaking on or presenting a DEI panel, etc.) and include metrics sufficient to monitor progress toward goals.

Recruitment and Retention:

• Starting in 2024, the Firm will commit to increase each of the percentage levels of gender, race/ethnicity, LGBTQ+, and ability/disability lawyers at the Firm by no less than 1 percent each year until such levels meet or exceed the levels reflected by the overall industry gender, race/ethnicity, LGBTQ+, and ability/disability lawyer averages revealed by the Minority Corporate Counsel Association’s annual Law Firm Diversity Survey.

Reporting:

• Starting in 2023, the Firm-wide DEI Committee Chairs will prepare and present an annual update on the Committee’s activity at the December Executive Committee meeting.
• Starting in 2023, the Firm’s Affinity Group Co-Chairs will prepare and present an annual report of the Affinity Group activity/programs and membership statistics (e.g., aggregate numbers and title of each attorney).
• Starting in 2023, the CDIO and Firm Chair will jointly prepare and present an annual end-of-year diversity report at the Executive Committee’s December meeting, including: (1) a summary of the level of gender, race/ethnicity, LGBTQ+, and ability/disability legal talent in the Firm overall and on key leadership/committee positions, (2) a summary of the rate of hire and attrition for the Firm’s diverse lawyers (broken out by gender, race/ethnicity, LGBTQ+, and ability/disability), (3) an analysis of the DEI hours for the year as compared to prior years, (4) a summary of the Firm’s DEI events/programs that year and (5) a list of the DEI-related client collaborations for that year.
• Starting in 2023, the CDIO and Firm Chair will jointly prepare and present an annual end-of-year diversity report at the Partnership December meeting, including: (1) a summary of the level of gender, race/ethnicity, LGBTQ+, and ability/disability legal talent in the Firm overall and on key leadership/committee positions, (2) a summary of the rate of hire and attrition for the Firm’s diverse lawyers, (3) an analysis of the DEI hours for the year as compared to prior years, and (4) a high-level summary of the Firm’s DEI events/programs/training for that year.