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:
- Select Your Pathfinders Today
- Three Things You Should Known About the LCLD Fellows Program
- Diversity: Key to a Happier Legal Profession
- Save-the-Date Reminders: CLE Webinar & Annual Meeting
- Recent Leadership Lunch
- Welcome, New Members!
- In the News
Did You Know?
LCLD has begun a Fellow Spotlight feature on our website home page. This month, 2014 Fellow Chrissy Roussell is featured. For questions about the Fellow Spotlight, please contact Caitlin Puffenberger, LCLD Communications Coordator.
Select Your Pathfinders Today
A small group of 2015 in-house Pathfinders participate in a breakout session during their second meeting in Chicago, October 2015. (Photo by Wilma Jackson)
The 2016 Pathfinder selection period is now underway. Don't miss this opportunity to have 1-2 early-career attorneys at your organization benefit from the LCLD Pathfinder Program:
- Practical tools for relationship building, leadership, and career development strategies
- Networking opportunities with peers, including small, intimate gatherings with LCLD Fellows, Fellows Alumni, and current and former Pathfinders
- Online experiential learning on relevant topics
If you value the Fellows or Fellows Alumni programs for their networking and career development resources, then you'll want to take advantage of this chance to have your early-career attorneys (i.e. law firm associates with no more than three years of practice experience, and in-house counsel with three years or less of in-house experience and less than eight years of total practice experience) participate in the Pathfinder Program.
Click here to select a Pathfinder by February 25, 2016. Space is limited, so we urge you to make selections as soon as possible.
For questions, please contact Lori Lorenzo, LCLD Program Director.
Three Things You Should Known About the LCLD Fellows Program
With the 2016 Fellows beginning their fellowship in less than a month, we wanted to remind LCLD Members of the ways they can ensure that their Fellows get the most out of the program. Reme?mber:
- The Fellows Program is game-changing.
- Your leadership lights the path for your Fellows' success.
- Your time is an unparalleled resource to Fellows.
Prior to your 2016 Fellows' first in-person meeting, March 4-6, 2016, please review the LCLD Member Toolkit for the Fellows Program to learn more about these important details of the program.
For more information about the Fellows Program, please contact Nichole Velasquez, Fellows Program Manager.
Diversity: Key to a Happier Legal Profession
by Anne-Marie Slaughter, Author and President & CEO, New America
Diversity in our workforce and our ways of working is the key to a more effective legal profession, according to Anne-Marie Slaughter, President & CEO of New America and past LCLD Annual Meeting speaker, in a special commentary written for LCLD.
Law school enrollment is down, many lawyers are unhappy with their jobs, and law firms are losing talent, particularly female talent, she explains. “Ways of working that leave room for lives outside the law will improve the productivity and quality of legal practice,” and will also make more room for diverse talent, Slaughter concludes. Read the full commentary.
Save-the-Date Reminders: CLE Webinar & Annual Meeting
Please remember to mark your calendars for the two following LCLD membership events. Registration information will be coming soon.
The Fourth Annual Mid-Year CLE Webinar, Building Inclusive Teams: Systems for Solving the Legal Profession's Diversity Problem, will be presented by Professor William D. Henderson of the Indiana University Maurer School of Law. LCLD has partnered with the Practising Law Institute (PLI) to apply for CLE credit for this presentation, which will be hosted at the PLI New York office on April 18, 2016, 1:00-4:00 pm ET.
A live webcast of this presentation will be available to employees at all LCLD Member organizations. For more information, please contact Lori Lorenzo, Program Director.
The Seventh Annual LCLD Membership Meeting will take place October 5-6, 2016 in Chicago, Illinois, at The Peninsula Chicago. You may now book your hotel room under the special LCLD conference rate. For more information, contact Jennifer Denton, LCLD Membership & Operations Director.
Recent Leadership Lunch
LCLD would like to thank Dennis Broderick, who is the Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Macy's and a former at-large vice president of the LCLD board, and John Soroko, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at Duane Morris LLP, for speaking at a Fellows Leadership Lunch this week.
The event took place February 9, 2016 at the Duane Morris office in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
For more information on hosting or speaking at a Leadership Lunch, please contact Nichole Velasquez, LCLD Program Manager.
Welcome, New Members!
Joel Carpenter, Managing Partner, Sullivan & Worcester LLP. Sullivan & Worcester has one goal: to help businesses thrive in an ever-changing marketplace. We combine the breadth of experience and sophistication you expect from a prominent, top-tier law firm with an unusually creative and flexible approach. Clients choose Sullivan & Worcester because our lawyers are hands-on, business savvy, and straightforward, with an intense commitment to our clients' interests. With offices in Boston, London, New York, Washington, D.C., and Tel Aviv, we serve clients ranging from emerging businesses to Fortune 500 companies and leading financial institutions.
Mike Dillon, Executive Vice President, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary, Adobe Systems Incorporated. Adobe is changing the world through digital experiences. Our creative, marketing, and document solutions empower everyone — from emerging artists to global brands — to bring digital creations to life and deliver them to the right person at the right moment for the best results.
Adobe is committed to fostering a diverse workforce and an inclusive workplace. The diversity of our employees is one of our most valuable assets and key competitive advantages. As an organization, we are committed to expanding and leveraging the diversity of our workforce.
Steve Rodgers, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, Intel Corporation. Our mission: “Utilize the power of Moore's Law to bring smart, connected devices to every person on Earth.”
Peter D. Shields, Managing Partner, Wiley Rein LLP. Founded in 1983, Wiley Rein is a dominant presence in the nation’s capital. With more than 250 lawyers, the firm has earned international prominence by representing clients in complex, high-stakes regulatory, litigation, and transactional matters. The firm operates at the intersection of politics, law, government, business, and technological innovation, representing a wide range of clients—from Fortune 500 corporations to trade associations to individuals—in virtually all industries.
David B. White, Executive Committee Member, Burns White LLC. Founded in 1987, Burns White is a full-service law firm with over 130 attorneys across five states, committed to serving our clients with excellence. Our clients’ needs, interests, and imagination truly inspire us in all that we do at Burns White. We recognize the necessity and value of a diverse and inclusive organization to reach our clients’ goals, as well as those of the firm, and are committed to working towards this responsible, necessary, and beneficial environment.
In the News
Brad Smith, LCLD Board Chair, and President and Chief Legal Officer of Microsoft Corp., spoke with the ABA Journal about the impact LCLD has on the legal profession.
Gary Sasso (left), LCLD Board Member, and President and CEO of Carlton Fields, Nancy Faggianelli (center), LCLD Diversity Professional and Shareholder at Carlton Fields, and Tiffani Lee (right), 2012 Fellow and Partner at Holland & Knight LLP, shared strategies for creating more inclusive law firms.
Barry Parsons, LCLD Diversity Professional and Associate General Counsel at Freddie Mac, discussed ways the company prioritizes diversity.
Vanessa Scott (left), 2015 Fellow, was named Chief Diversity Officer of Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP, and Lia Dorsey (right), LCLD Diversity Professional, was named Director of Diversity and Inclusion.
Manu Gayatrinath, 2015 Fellow and Partner at Latham & Watkins LLP, was interviewed about a diversity partnership between her firm and Comcast Corp.
Vanessa Allen Sutherland, 2011 Fellow and Chairperson of the U.S. Chemical Safety Board, was profiled in CEO Magazine (page 19).
Read the latest issue of the LCLD Weekly News Digest on major issues in diversity and the legal profession. If you would like to receive the news digest via email each Wednesday, please contact Caitlin Puffenberger, LCLD Communications Coordinator.
Several LCLD Member corporations were also featured in the news.
Jessica Smith, Communications & Marketing Manager, Editor
If you have any news or honors that are relevant to LCLD Members, please email Jessica Smith at jsmith@lcldnet.com.
