Jeremy Tran of O'Melveny & Myers makes a point at the two-day Pathfinder meeting hosted by Microsoft in Redmond, Washington. Photo by Jay Haas.
They hail from all over the United States: 113 attorneys from 78 law firms and corporations, rising stars in the profession who have been selected as 2016 LCLD Pathfinders.
Piloted last year with 40 attorneys from LCLD member law firms and corporations, the newest LCLD program trains early-career attorneys in critical career development strategies, with an emphasis on leadership, networking, and relationship building.
Between LCLD's 1L Scholars and Fellows programs, "there was a gap for junior associates or the youngest members of a corporate law department," said Greg Jordan, General Counsel at PNC Financial Services Group and a former LCLD board member. "That is a population of lawyers where you have very high attrition. So we created the Pathfinder Program as a way to deal with it."
Having seen the value of the program for PNC’s first Pathfinder in the class of 2015, Jordan selected another young attorney to participate in 2016 class (2016 Pathfinders from the meeting at Lilly are shown below).
The incoming class of 2016 divided into two groups to attend intensive two-day trainings at LCLD member corporations Eli Lilly and Company, in Indianapolis, and Microsoft Corporation, in Redmond, WA. Participants heard from experts on leadership and career development, as well as from various executives from the hosting corporations.
“Our profession will be stronger with more successful diverse attorneys,” said Brad Smith, President and Chief Legal Officer of Microsoft and the LCLD board Chair, who addressed the Pathfinders meeting at Microsoft in a lunchtime Q&A. “The LCLD Pathfinder Program helps by inspiring and nurturing the next generation of diverse talent, and we are committed to helping to scale its impact on both the participants and our profession.”
“Eli Lilly and Company was honored to host the LCLD Pathfinders,” said Michael Harrington, Lilly's Senior Vice President and General Counsel and an LCLD Board member. “The Pathfinders are already recognized by their own organizations for their leadership potential. I enjoyed welcoming this outstanding group to Lilly.”
"The curriculum for this program has been very carefully designed to accommodate early-career lawyers from both in-house legal departments and law firms," said Lori Lorenzo, LCLD Program Director. LCLD does this, she said, by identifying the leadership training and professional development that both groups need, while also focusing on the disparate needs of the two groups through breakout training sessions.
“All of that comes together for the member organizations, both corporations and law firms, in a more confident, more assertive, more leadership-oriented young lawyer."
To see the agenda for the meeting in Indianapolis, click here; for the meeting at Microsoft in Redmond, WA, click here. And for more informaton about the Pathfinder Program, contact Erin Hess, Program Manager.
See below for photos from the 2016 Pathfinder First Meeting at both Microsoft Corporation (April 14-16) and Eli Lilly and Company (March 31-April 2).
