Welcome to the LCLD INSIDER, our monthly newsletter to Members and supporters of the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity. This publication is for you, and we welcome your feedback and ideas, as well as any news you might be interested in passing along. We also encourage you to share the INSIDER with your support staff, diversity directors, and public relations and/or marketing departments to keep them better informed about what LCLD is doing. Thanks again for reading, and for your membership in LCLD.

-Robert Grey, Executive Director

Ideas that Work #1: Focus Like a Laser Beam

In a new series beginning this month called "Ideas that Work," LCLD Member Gary Sasso of Carlton Fields talks to Robert Grey about what works when it comes to diversity, offering practical tips on how his organization has become one of the most decorated diversity leaders in the country. There is no magic formula, says Sasso, the firm's president and CEO. "But being color-blind isn't enough. It has to enter into every business decision you make-every practice team you assemble, every promotion you approve, every client meeting you attend. Focus on making diversity the centerpiece of your business culture." See Robert Grey's blog, Open Minded, for more.

Geoff Kelly, LCLD Stalwart, Retires as GC of Coca-Cola

On December 15, Coca-Cola announced that Geoff Kelly, Senior VP and General Counsel, is retiring in February after more than 42 years with the Atlanta-based beverage giant. LCLD Members also know Geoff as a Board member and as one of our strongest advocates for diverse young talent. In his role as Vice Chair of the Talent Development Committee, Geoff was a prime architect of the Fellows program. Although Kelly will be stepping down as Coke's official LCLD representative, he will continue to advise the organization he has served so well. Congratulations, Geoff!

On American Lawyer's 2011 Diversity Scorecard, Nearly Half are LCLD

On December 8, ALM announced its 2011 Diversity Scorecard, one of the profession's most effective benchmarks for success in raising the levels of minority participation. Of the 200 firms recognized, 93 of them-nearly half-are Members of the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity. And four LCLD firms (Munger, Tolles & Olson, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, Townsend and Townsend and Crew, and Morrison & Foerster) made the top ten. Congratulations!

A Cloud of Words Yields Tools to Build LCLD

The "word cloud" above represents key concepts put forward during our recent Annual Meeting on BUILD IT cards, which Members filled out with suggestions and personal statements about the future of LCLD. We'll be running excerpts from these during 2012, as a way to BUILD momentum and spark new ideas.

Our first idea comes from Derek Harris of LCLD member firm Carlton Fields, who made the following pledge on his BUILD IT card:

"I will take my Members Tool Kit and distribute the brochures to three contacts at various corporations to encourage them to join LCLD."

We think that's a great idea, and so does Frank Burch, who also expressed his enthusiasm for the Members Tool Kit on video here. Reminder: Copies of the Tool Kit (including the LCLD brochure and presentation cards) are available for download on the LCLD Members web site here. Or if you'd like to have more ink-on-paper copies of the brochure to distribute, just e-mail Jennifer Denton.

Thanks for your help in promoting the mission and programs of LCLD!

What's Going On: LCLD Members in Action

Breaking new ground in community service, Birmingham-based Christian & Smallchanneled plenty of holiday spirit — and charitable giving — into its Nonstop Advocatesprogram, which this year supported Teach for America schools serving low-income students. Rhea F. Law, Chairman and CEO of Fowler White Boggs has been selected to serve on the Multicultural Advisory Council (MAC) of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida, formed to expand BCBS's diversity and cultural awareness. And Courageous Counsel, co-authored by Michele Mayes of Allstate, continues to earn rave reviews — and inspire serious discussion — with its in-depth profiles of women in leadership.