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:
- 2011 Fellow Becomes General Counsel
- LCLD Members, Register to Attend the Ninth Annual LCLD Membership Meeting
- Register to Attend: The Power of Networks at the Chicago History Museum
- Last Chance to Watch CLE Seminar On Demand
- Recent Leadership Lunches
- What's Working: How to Be Intentional About Promoting Women
- Mentor Registration Opens June 1st
- Welcome, New Member!
- In the News
Did You Know?
You can add an LCLD “Member” logo to your organization’s website or diversity and inclusion page.
2011 Fellow Becomes General Counsel
2011 Fellow Rana Wright recently became General Counsel at Harris Associates L.P. Prior to Harris Associates, Rana was an Assistant General Counsel and Managing Director at LCLD Member corporation Bank of America. She was nominated as an LCLD Fellow in 2011 by LCLD Member law firm Reed Smith LLP.
Congratulations, Rana!
LCLD Members, Register to Attend the Ninth Annual LCLD Membership Meeting
October 15-16, 2018, LCLD Members and their guests are invited to attend the Ninth Annual LCLD Membership Meeting* at the Mandarin Oriental Washington, D.C. On the evening of October 15, there will be a Welcome Reception at the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
You may click here to register for the meeting. Please click here to book your hotel room at the Mandarin Oriental Washington, D.C. under the "LCLD Annual Meeting 2018" block rate of $425 per night, by Monday, September 17, 2018. Rooms at this rate will be available until September 17, or until the block is sold out--whichever comes first.
Keep a lookout this summer for the Annual Meeting agenda.
*2018 Fellows, please note that you are invited to attend the concurrent LCLD 2018 Fellows Second Meeting, October 15-17, 2018 at The Willard InterContinental in Washington, D.C. The Ninth Annual LCLD Membership Meeting is designed specifically for LCLD Member Managing Partners, General Counsel, and their invited guests.
For questions about registration or hotel reservations, please contact Stella Askin, Program & Events Coordinator. For questions about the meeting, please contact Jennifer Denton, Membership & Operations Director.
Register to Attend: The Power of Networks at the Chicago History Museum
On Wednesday, June 6, from 6:00-9:00 pm CT, all LCLD program participants and Members are invited to attend a night of building community and connection over cocktails and hors d'oeuvres.
Join us at the Chicago History Museum to explore three thought-provoking exhibitions:
- Remembering Dr. King: 1929-1968, featuring over 25 photographs depiciting key moments in Dr. King's work
- Race: Are We So Different?, the nation's first exhibition to tell stories of race from biological, cultural, and historical points of view
- Amplified: Chicago Blues, celebrating the Chicago Blues scene and how the Great Migration shaped a musical revolution
We will also hear an inspiring message on the power of networks from LCLD President and chief connector, Robert Grey.
Click here to register for this event by Tuesday, May 29, 2018.
We’d like to thank the following event sponsors: Schiff Hardin LLP, Morton Salt, Inc., and Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated.
For questions, please contact Erin Hess, LCLD Program Manager.
Last Chance to Watch CLE Seminar On Demand
Did you miss LCLD's 2017 Mid-Year CLE Seminar, Opportunity at the Crossroads: Using Authentic Leadership Presence to Interrupt Unconscious Bias? If so, there's still a limited time left to watch it on demand and request CLE credit. LCLD has partnered with the Practising Law Institute (PLI) to apply for CLE credit for this presentation.
This seminar was presented by Kate Ebner (l), Founder & CEO of the Nebo Company and Director of the Institute for Transformational Leadership at Georgetown University, and Kim D'Abreu (r), Principal Consultant at Diversity Dimensions Consulting, LLC, and Leadership Coach at The Nebo Company, and a panel of LCLD Members. Click here for more information.
View On Demand:
Please click here to view a recording of this seminar at your convenience. The recording will be available through Saturday, June 9, 2018. Please note that no credit will be offered for group viewings of this on-demand program.
For general questions about this presentation, please contact Jennifer Denton, LCLD Membership & Operations Director. Please direct any technical questions to PLI at 1-800-260-4754 or info@pli.edu.
Recent Leadership Lunches
LCLD Member Kimberly Johnson (center, left), Former LCLD Board Member Cornell Boggs (center, right), and Fellows Program Manager Nichole Velasquez (center, second right) with LCLD Fellows at the May 4 Leadership Lunch. (Photo by Darlene Austin)
We'd like to thank the following LCLD affiliates for hosting and speaking at Fellows' Leadership Lunches this month:
- LCLD Member Kimberly Johnson, Partner and Firm Chair of Quarles & Brady LLP, and Cornell Boggs, Former LCLD Board Member and Senior Advisor at BarkerGilmore, who spoke to Fellows during a Leadership Lunch hosted at the Washington, D.C. office of Quarles & Brady LLP on May 4, 2018.
- 2016 Fellow Stacia Jones, Vice President, Associate General Counsel, and Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer of Abercrombie & Fitch Co., and Jolie Havens, Partner and Chair of the Diversity and Inclusion Committee at Vorys, Sater, Seymour & Pease LLP, who spoke to Fellows during a Leadership Lunch hosted at the 609 Main Building in Houston, TX, on May 11, 2018.
For questions about hosting a Leadership Lunch, please contact Nichole Velasquez, Fellows Program Manager.
What's Working: How to Be Intentional About Promoting Women
In 2018, LCLD Member firm Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP achieved a major diversity milestone: women now make up half of both the managing partners committee and the executive management team.
But it’s not coincidence that women hold these key leadership roles; Drinker Biddle has been intentional about including, supporting, and promoting women at all levels. LCLD spoke with Andrew Kassner (above, left), LCLD Member and Chair of Drinker Biddle & Reath, and Lynne Anderson (above, right), Co-Chair of the firm’s Women’s Leadership Committee (WLC), about how they’ve created a culture of support for women.
“This doesn’t happen organically,” said Anderson. “You really need to have a focus. Five years ago, we rebooted the WLC and began focusing on data-driven metrics that allow us to see where we have the most room for improvement.”
After five years of concerted, top-to-bottom efforts to support women, Drinker Biddle reached parity in its elected governing bodies. But for Kassner, that achievement is a measure of ongoing success, not the final goal: “The results of our election are a logical conclusion of the fact that women have been getting more management responsibilities and leadership roles in the firm. All the women elected were highly qualified and respected within the firm.” Read more.
Read more about "What's Working" at LCLD Member organizations for creating a more inclusive legal profession and find out if what's working for these organizations can work for yours, too. To submit a "What's Working" initiative, please email Caitlin Puffenberger, LCLD Communications Specialist.
Mentor Registration Opens June 1st
Beginning Friday, June 1, attorneys at LCLD Member organizations will be able to register to become Mentors as part of the 2018-2019 LCLD 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.
We look forward to working with your organization as part of the Mentoring Program this year! Thank you in advance for your help.
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.
Welcome, New Member!
Scott A. Edelman, Chairman, Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP. Scott A. Edelman is Chairman of Milbank and a member of the firm’s Litigation & Arbitration Group. Recognized as one of the country’s top litigators and corporate advisers, he specializes in high-stakes, bet-the-company litigation and trials across several substantive areas of the law, including securities, commercial, and white collar.
Milbank is an elite international law firm that provides innovative legal services to clients around the world. Founded in New York more than 150 years ago, Milbank has offices in 12 cities. Our lawyers collaborate to help the world’s leading commercial, financial, and industrial enterprises, as well as institutions, individuals, and governments, achieve their strategic objectives.
We believe that a diverse mix of backgrounds, experiences, cultures, ethnicities, abilities, gender identities, sexual orientation, and ages brings perspectives that benefit our attorneys and our clients. As one of the first major firms to establish a Diversity Committee, Milbank has long been committed to initiatives and programs that foster diversity and inclusion, including an active network of affinity groups, training programs, networking events, pro bono opportunities, and recruiting outreach.
In the News
Robert Grey, LCLD President, spoke about the importance of inclusion and talent development at the James P. White Lecture on Legal Education at Indiana University.
Brad Smith, LCLD Immediate Past Chair and President of Microsoft Corporation, wrote an article about the company’s efforts to improve access to technology for people with disabilities.
Verona Dorch, LCLD Member and Chief Legal Officer of Peabody Energy Corp., spoke about her expectations for outside counsel, including diversity.
Brad Karp, LCLD Member and Chairman of Paul, Weiss, Rifking, Wharton & Garrison, spoke about how the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements have impacted the legal profession.
Mark Smolik, LCLD Member, and General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer of DHL Supply Chain Americas, was profiled by Corporate Counsel.
David Zapolskly, LCLD Member and General Counsel of Amazon.com, spoke about his commitment to pro bono and the founding of the “Amazon Justice League.”
Leslie Richards-Yellen, Director of Inclusion at Hogan Lovells US LLP, spoke about how the firm is responding to increased client requests for diversity data.
Wesley Bizzell, 2014 Fellow and Assistant General Counsel at Altria Client Services Inc., wrote a chapter for the book The Diversity Agenda. His chapter, “The Basics and Beyond—Raising the Bar for LGBTQ Diversity in the Legal Profession,” focuses on practical steps that an in-house law department or a law firm can take to foster diversity and inclusion for LGBTQ employees.
David Lam, 2011 Fellow and Partner at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, was featured in an article about a merger between Sprint Corp. and T-Mobile US Inc.
Jaimala Pai, 2012 Fellow and Principal Legal Counsel at Medtronic, Inc., published an article titled, “An In-House Counsel Explains How to Make Yourself Stand Out to In-House Counsel.”
Various LCLD Member organizations 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.
Jessica Sabesan
Communications & Marketing Manager, LCLD Insider Editor
If you have any news or honors that are relevant to LCLD Members, please email Jessica Sabesan at jsabesan@lcldnet.com.
