We have witnessed our country and the world in a state of pain and shock caused by the senseless death of George Floyd and too many others.  We at Merchant & Gould state with complete resolve that racism, bigotry, and intolerance of any type are unacceptable and cannot and must not be tolerated in our organization or in our communities.  We stand equally resolute in our belief and commitment that the coming together of our differences is what makes us better and stronger.  We take this moment in our firm’s history to reaffirm our commitment to diversity, inclusion, and equality in every aspect of our work, our relationships with each other, and our interactions with the larger community as individuals and as a collective. 

In recent years, we have made strides in making our organization more diverse and inclusive. We achieved certification under the Mansfield Rule to boost diversity in our firm’s leadership; we established scholarships to increase diversity in our profession; and we adopted comprehensive policies setting the standards by which we will interact with each other in our firm.  We understand, however, that words alone and past efforts will not bring about the change that is so greatly needed.  We, therefore, commit to redoubling our focus on diversity through hiring, retention, pro bono services, charitable efforts, community involvement, and client development.

Let us emerge from heartache with a new sense of caring and togetherness.