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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 and vision to measurable progress, Locke Lord commits to the following actions: 

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 diversity-focused attorney retreat or similar opportunity (e.g., diversity dinners) for Firm 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 and discuss how themes of belonging, equity and diversity can support the career experience of all legal talent in “Big Law” and at Locke Lord.
  • 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 2024, revive the supplemental 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.) and discussions of how themes of belonging, equity and diversity can support the career experience of all legal talent in “Big Law” and at Locke Lord.
  • In even calendar years, beginning 2024, conduct an analysis of Partner compensation to identify and address (if necessary) any trends of bias or inequitable pay practices between gender and/or 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 review the status of client-team participation for diverse attorneys.
 

External Initiatives:

  • No later than 2025, the Firm will establish a supplier (vendor) program that, through expanded outreach, increases the number of firms bidding on Firm business by inviting a broad slate of vendors to participate, including certified small (SBA) organizations, and/or women-owned, LGBTQ+-owned, minority-owned or geographically local-focused businesses. The Firm will annually review the composition of its supplier/vendor pool to assess the level of spend with these vendors

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 a DEI analysis that: (1) captures the percentage levels of gender, race/ethnicity, LGBTQ+ status, and persons with and without disabilities in their Department client teams and the respective billable hour totals for those lawyers, (2) establishes leadership pathing/training for lawyers in their Department and/or on Firm committees 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, involvement with a Firm attorney-only Affinity Group, speaking on or presenting on a DEI panel, etc.) and include metrics sufficient to monitor progress. 


Recruitment and Retention:

  • The Firm will maintain its commitment to achieving annual Mansfield Certification and to employing a variety of recruiting sources to fill lateral and summer hiring needs. Starting in 2024, the Firm will calculate the percentage levels of lawyers at the Firm by gender, race/ethnicity, LGBTQ+ status, and persons with and without disabilities and compare those findings with both: (1) the levels reflected in prior years and (2) the overall industry averages by gender, race/ethnicity, LGBTQ+, and persons with and without disability as established 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 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 numbers of Firm attorneys categorized by self-disclosed gender, race/ethnicity, LGBTQ+ status, and persons with and without disabilities in the Firm overall and on key leadership/committee positions, (2) a summary of the rate of hire and attrition for the Firm’s lawyers (broken out by gender, race/ethnicity, LGBTQ+ status, and persons with and without disabilities), (3) a summary report on the Affinity Group activity/programs and membership statistics (e.g., aggregate numbers and title of each attorney), (4) an analysis of the DEI hours for the year as compared to prior years and applying the categories as referenced in (1) above, (5) a summary of the Firm’s DEI events/programs that year and (6) 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 numbers of Firm attorneys categorized by self-disclosed gender, race/ethnicity, LGBTQ+ status, and persons with and without disabilities both in the Firm overall and on key leadership/committee positions, (2) a summary of the rate of hire and attrition for the Firm’s lawyers, applying the categories as referenced in (1) above, (3) an analysis of the DEI hours for the year as compared to prior years and applying the categories as referenced in (1) above, (4) a summary report on the Affinity Group activity/programs and membership statistics (e.g., aggregate numbers and title of each attorney) and (5) a high-level summary of the Firm’s DEI events/programs/training for that year.

 

Locke Lord LLP is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religious creed, sex, national origin, citizenship status, ancestry, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, domestic partner status, civil union status, genetic information, disability, veteran status or other classifications that are deemed to be protected under federal, state and/or local laws. All qualified applicants and employees of the Firm are to be given equal opportunity regarding all terms and conditions of their employment and that selection, promotion, compensation, or other job-related decisions are to be based on job-related factors. All references to any person’s gender, race/ethnicity, LGBTQ+ status, or disability, as used in this Strategic Plan for Diversity and Inclusion or related actions is based on voluntary self-disclosure by that person.

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