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:
- 2016 Annual Meeting Registration
- Mentor Registration Deadline Approaching
- Rick Palmore: Inspiring Action
- Fellows Learning Experience: The Walmart Way
- We Thank Our Recent Regional Event Hosts
- Lori Lorenzo Interviewed by Thomson Reuters' Women's Leadership Initiative
- Welcome, New Members!
- In the News
Did You Know?
You can engage with LCLD on social media: Like us on Facebook, follow LCLD President Robert Grey and Program Director Lori Lorenzo on Twitter, and join the LCLD Members LinkedIn group.
2016 Annual Meeting Registration
We’re excited to open registration for the Seventh Annual LCLD Membership Meeting, scheduled for October 5-6, 2016, at The Peninsula Hotel in Chicago, Illinois.
Our theme this year is the "Language of Leadership"—LCLD Members' unique power, through word and action, to communicate core values of leadership, including diversity and inclusion, and to pass down hard-earned wisdom and experience to the next generation. Click here to register for the meeting and click here to view the full agenda.
For questions, please contact Jennifer Denton, LCLD Membership & Operations Director.
Mentor Registration Deadline Approaching
There's only one week left for attorneys at LCLD Member organizations to register to become LCLD Mentors as part of the Success in Law School Mentoring Program. In the fall, registered Mentors will be matched with diverse, first-year law students in major cities across the country.
Click here to register to become a Mentor today. We also encourage you to pass this opportunity along to your attorney colleagues. Wednesday, August 31, is the deadline to register; Mentors will be matched on a first-come, first-served basis.
For more information about becoming an LCLD Mentor, please review this brief FAQ page. For any other questions, please contact Nancy Richardson, LCLD Program Manager.
Rick Palmore: Inspiring Action
By Lori Lorenzo, LCLD Program Director
Demetra Liggins (2nd row, 3rd left), pictured with the Fellows Class of 2012, holds the Owlie Fellows Alumni Community Service Award, which the Class of 2012 won this year. (Photo by Nabil Foster)
LCLD was founded after Rick Palmore, then Chief Legal Officer of General Mills, issued a clarion Call to Action that inspired America's top general counsel and managing partners to make diversity a priority for the legal profession. And now Palmore, as LCLD’s Founding Chair and Board Member Emeritus, has issued a new Call to Action, challenging the LCLD Fellows Alumni to do more for their communities.
Palmore has also raised the stakes for the LCLD Fellows Alumni by pledging to personally match up to $5,000 raised by Fellows Alumni during their annual alumni conference community outreach project. The benefitting charity will be chosen by the Alumni Conference Committee, which is planning the sixth annual conference for New York City in June of 2017.
Since its inception, the LCLD Fellows Alumni organization has had a strong commitment to community outreach. Guided by the Community Outreach Committee, the Fellows Alumni have consistently demonstrated their interest in building strong communities through initiatives like their annual food and toy drive. Read the full article.
Fellows Learning Experience: The Walmart Way
By Don Belt, LCLD Communications Director
Citing diversity as an "integral part" of Walmart's mission, Karen Roberts, Executive Vice President and General Counsel, welcomed LCLD Fellows to an intensive Learning Experience at Walmart's Bentonville, Arkansas, headquarters. (Photo by Don Belt)
The skyrocket journey of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.—from its humble beginnings in 1950 as Sam Walton’s small-town five-and-dime (below) to the largest company in the world—formed the backdrop for a particularly ambitious LCLD Fellows Learning Experience in Bentonville, Arkansas, in July.
Organized by the Walmart Legal department and hosted by LCLD Board member Karen Roberts, Walmart’s Executive Vice President and General Counsel, the fast-paced, two-day event left three dozen Fellows marveling at the corporation’s modest beginnings—and deeply impressed by the sophistication of the $490-billion-dollar retailer’s global strategy and operations. Read the full article and view photos.
The latest Learning Experience was hosted at The Home Depot by Teresa Roseborough, Executive Vice President, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary. The event took place August 3-4, 2016 in Atlanta, Georgia. Look out for an article about the event this fall. For more information on how you can host a Learning Experience, please contact Nichole Velasquez, LCLD Program Manager.
We Thank Our Recent Regional Event Hosts
LCLD Fellows and 1L Scholars at the D.C. Area Networking Lunch at Cooley LLP in July. (Photo by Amie Santos)
LCLD would like to thank the following LCLD Members and organizations for hosting regional LCLD events in July, August, and September:
- Amie Santos, Diversity & Inclusion Manager at Cooley LLP, who organized the D.C. Area Networking Lunch for LCLD Fellows and 1L Scholars on July 19, 2016.
- Joe Conroy, President and CEO of Cooley LLP, and his guest Salle Yoo, General Counsel of Uber Technologies, who hosted a Fellows Leadership Lunch at Cooley in San Francisco on August 9, 2016. Read the event article and view photos.
- Arent Fox LLP, which hosted two Fellows and Fellows Alumni Happy Hour events: one in Los Angeles on August 11 at 71Above, and another in San Francisco on August 17 at RN74.
- Richard Allendorf, SVP, General Counsel, and Secretary at General Mills, and Lowell Stortz, Chair of Stinson Leonard Street LLP, who will host a Fellows Leadership Lunch at Stinson Leonard Street in Minneapolis on August 25.
- Thomas Bender, Co-President and Managing Director of Littler Mendelson, P.C., and Amy Sanford, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of US Anesthesia Partners and 2013 Fellow, who will host a Fellows Leadership Lunch on September 20 at Littler Mendelson's Dallas office.
Lori Lorenzo Interviewed by Thomson Reuters' Women's Leadership Initiative
LCLD Program Director Lori Lorenzo was recently interviewed by Thomson Reuters' Transforming Women's Leadership in the Law initiative, discussing how to, "Engage Leadership to Improve Diversity & Inclusion." Her interview includes the actions that LCLD is taking to further its goals and what helpful actions individuals can take within their legal departments or law firms. Read the full interview.
Welcome, New Members!
Sandra Carbone, General Counsel, IZEA, Inc. (2015 LCLD Fellow). IZEA connects influential creators with leading brands who compensate them to produce and distribute content. Brands receive influential content and engaging, shareable stories that drive awareness. Creators are compensated for their participation and partnership.
IZEA has democratized media, allowing everyone from college students and stay-at-home moms to celebrities and journalists an opportunity to monetize their content, creativity, and influence in social media.
Nick Zuk, Senior Vice President, Secretary, and General Counsel for White Castle, helps the family-owned iconic brand achieve its vision to “feed the souls of craver generations everywhere,” and its mission to “make memorable moments every day.” With restaurants in 12 states and a presence in grocery stores all over the country, White Castle provides nourishment to communities and empowerment to people in its quest to feed hunger, hopes, and dreams.
In the News
LCLD Board Members Mark Roellig, Executive Vice President and General Counsel MassMutual Financial Services, and Karen Roberts, Executive Vice President and General Counsel of WalMart Stores, Inc., were among the Fortune 500 general counsel who called upon law firms to more closely scrutinize their diversity demographics and inclusion policies.
Roger Furey, LCLD Member and Chairman of Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP, discussed his plans for the future of Katten and the legal profession.
Bernhard Goepelt, LCLD Member and Senior Vice President and General Counsel of The Coca-Cola Co., hosted an event to connect in-house attorneys with minority- and women-owned law firms in the Atlanta area.
Yvette Gatling, 2012 Fellow and Shareholder at Littler Mendelson, P.C., wrote about the importance of mentorship and sponsorship for minority attorneys.
Vanessa Allen Sutherland, 2011 Fellow and Chairperson of the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB), was profiled in BIC Magazine for her work with the CSB.
Various LCLD Member organizations and members of the LCLD community were also featured in the news.
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.
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.
