About
Vellum is mammal skin prepared for writing. The skin is cleaned, bleached, stretched on a frame, and scraped with a knife. As a result, it is of a much higher quality than paper and parchment. It’s durable and translucent. It has a feeling of warmth and simplicity. It can last for hundreds even thousands of years. The British Parliament still prints all of its Acts on vellum. It even has Acts printed on vellum dating back to 1497. But vellum needs the right environment: if it’s too dry, vellum gets brittle and fragile; if it’s too humid, it becomes vulnerable to mold or fungus.
The qualities of vellum fit our approach to compliance and ethics programs. We aim to help you create programs that endure time. We create programs that stretch companies to greater heights. We understand that the right environment is necessary for the program to endure.
Our story starts with Andrew Mitton – the founder of Vellum, LLC (see LinkedIn profile). Andrew started practicing law in Alaska in 1997. He worked for a law firm for five years doing adoptions and business law. He worked for almost four years at ASRC Energy Services as Assistant Corporate Counsel. Then he became the Director of Compliance at Ukpeagvik Inupiat Corporation where he created their successful compliance and ethics program based on the story of the Clean Umiaq.
An umiaq is a seal-skin covered boat that the Inupiat hunters use to hunt bowhead whales on the north slope of Alaska. The bowhead whale chooses to give itself to hunters who keep their umiaqs clean because these are the hunters who are respectful, honest, and considerate of others. Just as the bowhead chooses to give itself to bowhead hunters with clean umiaqs, clients and employees choose to give themselves to Ukpeagvik Inupiat Corporation as it keep its umiaq clean.
Andrew started Vellum LLC to help other companies achieve the same success of the Clean Umiaq program. Our goal is to help you with your compliance and ethics program. Our aim is to create programs that bring out the best in your employees; to help you create a company where employees are proud to work; and to help your company build an enduring reputation of integrity.