Welcome to the LCLD Insider, our monthly newsletter. This publication is for you, and we welcome your feedback and ideas, as well as any news you might be interested in passing along. Please share the Insider with your support staff, diversity directors, and marketing departments to keep them better informed about what LCLD is doing.
-Robert Grey, President
In This Issue:
- Welcome, New Members!
- The Mentoring Program Needs Your Help
- Reminder to Submit Your 2015 Fellows Nominations
- 86 Member Organizations to Host 1L Scholars
- Two Fellows Recently Became Chief Lawyers
- Speak to Fellows and Fellows Alumni at Roundtable Events
- In the News
Welcome, New Members!
John A. Barbour, CEO, Managing Director, and Chairman of the Board, Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC. Founded in 1850, Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney is a full-service law firm with approximately 530 lawyers and government relations professionals who serve the legal and business needs of regional, national, and international clients.
At Buchanan, partnership is about building and maintaining strong professional relationships with clients through individual attention and deep understanding of their needs and priorities. The firm believes that the different backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives of our attorneys and government relations professionals enhance the legal services and partnerships that the firm provides to clients, and it is committed to ensuring that diversity is a top priority in the hiring, retention, and advancement of the firm's attorneys and other professionals.
Les I. Bookoff, Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Bookoff McAndrews PLLC. Bookoff McAndrews is a patent law firm dedicated to providing the highest quality patent counseling and prosecution services to technology companies. Its services include U.S. and foreign patent prosecution and portfolio management, contested proceedings at the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, patent opinions, IP due diligence investigations, and IP transactions. All of the firm’s resources are devoted to these services, without the administration and overhead associated with litigation and other practices. It also provides consistency of attorneys handling a client’s matters and greater flexibility in bill rates and pricing.
Timothy A. Pratt, Executive Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer, General Counsel & Secretary, Boston Scientific Corporation. Boston Scientific transforms lives through innovative medical solutions that improve the health of patients around the world. As a global medical technology leader for more than 30 years, the company advances science for life by providing a broad range of high-performance solutions that address unmet patient needs and reduce the cost of healthcare. As one of the world’s largest medical device companies, Boston Scientific has over 16,000+ patents issued, more than 23,000 employees around the globe, and a market presence in nearly 100 countries worldwide. The company has numerous programs to foster and promote diversity and inclusion, including several employee resource groups. Tim demonstrates his support for diversity and inclusion in many ways, including serving as the Global Executive sponsor for the Boston Scientific LGBT employee resource group.
The Mentoring Program Needs Your Help
We're wrapping up the LCLD Success in Law School Mentoring Program matching process for first-year law students and attorneys from LCLD Member organizations. So far, we've matched over 730 pairings across 31 cities for the 2014-2015 academic year.
While we're proud of that number and the impact made, we still have more than 185 attorneys who are waiting for a first-year law student mentee. If you have connections with law schools in the following cities and would be willing to encourage student enrollment, please contact Louise Bald or the law schools directly:
- Boston, MA (17)
- Cincinnati, OH (8)
- Columbus, OH (41)
- Orange County, CA (6)
- Dallas, TX (5)
- Louisville, KY (5)
- Miami, FL (29)
- Minneapolis, MN (18)
- New York, NY (23)
- Phoenix, AZ (4)
- San Francisco, CA (8)
- Seattle, WA (4)
- Silicon Valley, CA (9)
For questions about the LCLD Success in Law School Mentoring Program, please contact Louise Bald.
A Mentor speaks to Mentees at a Group Mentoring Event hosted by Duane Morris LLP in San Diego, CA. (November 2014, photo courtesy of Duane Morris LLP)
Reminder to Submit Your 2015 Fellows Nominations
With the holidays approaching and less than a month until the deadline, we'd like to remind you to submit your organization's 2015 LCLD Fellows nomination(s).
By nominating a Fellow to participate in LCLD's yearlong relationship building and leadership training program, your organization has the opportunity to shape the future leaders of the legal profession. The Fellows Program curriculum has been designed exclusively for LCLD; we urge your organization to take advantage of this opportunity, which is only available to lawyers at LCLD Member organizations.
As you consider who to nominate, please review the 2015 LCLD Fellows Program Prospectus, which explains the program's purpose and components, selection criteria, and fees. Click here to nominate your Fellow by December 31, 2014.
For questions about Fellows nominations, please contact Stephanie Uzel. More information can also be found on the LCLD website.
2014 Fellows at their first in-person meeting in Dallas, TX (March 2014, photo by Jay Haas).
86 Member Organizations to Host 1L Scholars
LCLD is excited to announce that 86 Member organizations have granted internships to a total of 191 1L LCLD Scholars next summer! Additionally, these law students will have the opportunity to attend the2015 1L LCLD Scholars Summit, May 28-30, 2015.
On December 1, we notified more than 100 law schools, nationwide, of the available 2015 1L LCLD Scholars opportunities.
We thank all of the organizations who have committed to the 2015 1L Scholars Program, and that will enrich the career development of talented and diverse first-year law students and shape their future.
If you haven't registered your organization to host 1L Scholars, there's still time to do so. However, please act quickly so that your 1L Scholars opportunity can be published to the official list of openings as soon as possible. Click here to register your organization, or click here for more information about the program.
For questions about the 2015 1L LCLD Scholars Program, please contact Louise Bald.
2014 1L Scholars at the 2014 1L LCLD Scholars Summit in Dallas, TX (June 2014, photo by Joe Mahoney).
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Two Fellows Recently Became Chief Lawyers
LCLD congratulates the following LCLD Fellows who have become leading lawyers.
Santiago "Jimmy" Alaniz, 2014 Fellow, was recently named the Chief Legal Officer of Packers Sanitation Services, Inc. in Kieler, WI. Prior to his new role, he was a Partner at LCLD Member firm Fisher & Phillips LLP.
Prashant Khetan, 2012 Fellow, was recently promoted from Senior Counsel to Chief Counsel at Cause of Action in Washington, D.C.
Speak to Fellows and Fellows Alumni at Roundtable Events
The LCLD Fellows Regional Committee plans to host several roundtable events across the country, which will each feature a prominent CEO, general counsel, or managing partner.
The LCLD Fellows Regional Committee, a subcommittee of the Fellows Alumni Executive Committee, is responsible for increasing Fellows’ interaction with other LCLD program members, and among each other by organizing and marketing regional events.
Roundtable events will take place in the following cities:
- Atlanta, GA
- Chicago, IL
- Dallas, TX
- Houston, TX
- Indianapolis, IN
- Los Angeles, CA
- Miami, FL
- Minneapolis, MN
- Nashville, TN
- New York, NY
- Philadelphia, PA
- San Francisco, CA
- Washington, D.C.
If you're interested in leading a roundtable event, please email LCLD Fellows Regional Committee Chair Paula Aguila (2013 Fellow) for more information.
Fellows Alumni during a session at the Third Annual LCLD Fellows Alumni Conference in Miami, FL (May 2014, photo by Jay Haas).
In the News
Brad Smith, Chair of the LCLD Board of Directors, and Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Legal and Corporate Affairs at Microsoft, recently spoke with the British research journal Who's Who Legal. In the interview, he makes the case for diversity in the profession, and describes the history-making role of LCLD.
Marcus Christian, 2014 Fellow and Partner at Mayer Brown LLP, was profiled for Law360’s Minority Powerbrokers series.
Dennis Hopkins, 2014 Fellow and Partner at Perkins Coie LLP, has been named a 2014 CUP Catalyst Change Agent | Law by the Council of Urban Professionals (CUP). The honor goes to "accomplished leaders across the legal sector who have achieved extraordinary success in business while simultaneously making a significant impact on their community."
Ernesto Palomo, 2014 Fellow and Partner at Locke Lord LLP, was profiled for Law360’s Minority Powerbrokers series.
Erika Royal, 2014 Fellow and Partner at Holland & Knight LLP, was profiled for Law360’s Minority Powerbrokers series.
Laura Wilkinson, 2014 Fellow and Partner at Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, was profiled for Law360’s Minority Powerbrokers series.
King & Spalding LLP is gearing up efforts to reach female intellectual property lawyers, all of which are spearheaded by female IP partners at the firm. Other LCLD Member firms DLA Piper and Fish & Richardson P.C. are also increasing marketing to female IP lawyers.
LCLD Member firm Norton Rose Fulbright LLP was featured in an article in Texas Lawyer for announcing its goal to reach 30 percent female partners globally and 30 percent female representation on all board and management committees globally by 2020. Read the firm's press release on the announcement here.
Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi L.L.P. was named on The National Law Journal’s 2014 Elite Trial Lawyers List.
Walgreen Co., an LCLD Member corporation, has made supporting minority-owned businesses the forefront of its strategy to make a difference in the community. The company recently reached $1 billion in spending with diverse-owned businesses.
Various LCLD Member organizations have recently received top leadership and diversity rankings, including the DiversityInc "2014 Top 50 Companies for Diversity" list, the Human Rights Campaign "Corporate Equality Index," and The National Law Journal "2014 Appellate Hot List." Click here to view the list of LCLD Member organizations that have been recognized.
If you have any news or honors that are relevant to LCLD Members, please email Jessica Smith at jsmith@lcldnet.com.
