Van Doorne

General

• Since 2020 a DEI committee is in place that currently consists of 10 members from different layers of the organization; since 2023 all members have time allocated within their role for DEI (this is best practice in the Dutch legal industry; we believe that no other firm has this; in general DEI committees run on voluntary work).
• Since August 2023 we have a fulltime DEI Lead that heads the DEI committee. The DEI Lead sits right under the board, between different departments, and has a considerable budget to implement the DEI strategy and annual plan.
• In 2024 we started with setting up ERGs. Currently there is an active ERG for the LGBT+ community and one for young parents.

DEI Strategy and Annual Plan

• We believe in an inclusive work culture to bring the best out of people. We want people to be their true selves in the workplace, develop their skill sets and be the best that they can be in their work. We see an inclusive work culture as a base condition for diversity and equity.
• In 2022 we were the first Dutch law firm to sign the Diversity Charter of the Social and Economic Council of the Netherlands (SER). In the Charter we committed to concrete goals for ethnic minorities. Earlier we signed the SER Talent to the Top Charter focused on increasing women in leadership positions. The commitments were translated to concrete plans to make these goals a reality.
• The first pillar of our DEI strategy is to ensure processes and procedures are equitable in nature. This means for one that we implemented changes in our recruitment procedures to come to an objective recruitment process. Also, we adjusted evaluation criteria of partners to reward succesful team leadership and other soft skills (instead of a singular focus on revenue and acquisition). Additionally, we developed procedures to ensure equity, e.g., 100% birth leave for new fathers, a prayer room, and the possibility of swapping public holidays.
• The second pillar of our DEI strategy focuses on training and education. We educate on what constitutes a safe working environment, how to exhibit inclusive behavior and combat microagressions. In 2023 we worked with an external facilitator, a behavioral psychologist, to train the entire firm on how to recognize inappropriate behavior and situations. In 2024 we continued the collaboration and organized a follow-up training on how to the have difficult discussions to address inappropriate behavior. Recap training is available yearly for new employees to keep the knowledge alive within the organization. More training on topics such as giving and receiving feedback and inclusive leadership are part of our newly launched training program. We aim to give employees the tools to contribute to creating and maintaining an inclusive work environment.
• The third pillar of our DEI strategy focuses on social events and communication. We organize cultural events to increase mutual understanding and for team building; think company lunches for the lunar new year, an iftar during Ramadan, a Pride Pub Quiz during Pride Month and a reflection on slavery and how it lives on today during Keti Koti, the celebration of the abolition of slavery in Surinam and the Antilles.
• We use our employee engagement survey to, among other things, gather the experiences of Van Doorne employees on DEI, analyze progress from last year and see how we can further improve the strategy. Additionally, we monitor the gender balance and issue a yearly report on the status and recommendations to further gender equality. A report on ethnic minority within the organization is in the making.

Founding member of DEI industry initiatives

• Since 2016: founding member of Stichting Forward, a foundation that promotes acceptance, recognition and visibility of LGBTQI+ people within the Dutch legal profession;
• Since 2022: partner of Stichting Bridges Network, a foundation that connects bicultural and/or first time LLM students to bicultural lawyers to bridge the gap with large commercial law firms;
• Since 2023: founding member of Stichting Lequal, a foundation that promotes DEI (with a focus on bicultural professionals) within the Dutch legal profession.