Recently, we have witnessed the shocking killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor, as the most recent examples in a long list of continued acts of racism and injustice against the Black community. While these tragedies have grabbed headlines, they are not isolated incidents; rather, they are part of a long history of violence against Black communities and a broader issue of systemic racism. HBR denounces racism in all forms and we commit to increase our efforts to drive change within HBR and in our communities.

Ultimately, true change requires all organizations, including HBR, to ask what more we can and should do to live our commitments to diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI). We know we can do more and will continue to identify additional areas to build upon and expand our efforts, working with our firmwide leadership team, internal DEI team and external experts.

As a starting point, in 2020 HBR commits to:

• Externally, identify specific organizations that address racial equality and committing our time and resources to support the efforts of eradicating systemic racism.
• Internally, revisiting and developing specific DEI metrics and goals for HBR and holding employees accountable to firmwide standards for the ways we operate, work together and respect one another; including on-going efforts around our pay equity practices.
• Hosting quarterly focus groups to ensure DEI is progressing appropriately and identifying additional areas we can influence and develop.
• Continuing the use and expansion of our company volunteer time off and match program for employees to contribute both time and financial resources toward social justice organizations and causes they feel passionate about.

We know lasting change requires a collective effort of many individuals and companies, and we will work to drive progress in our spheres of influence, working with both our law firm and corporate law department clients to bring about sustainable improvements and increasing focus on engagement, empathy and justice.

Christopher Petrini-Poli
Executive Chairman

Nicholas G. Quil
Chief Executive Officer