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:
- Three Fellows Alums Reach the Leadership Ranks
- One Week Left to Submit 2019 Fellow Nominations
- Two Weeks Left to Submit 2019 Pathfinder Selections
- Schedule of 2019 Diversity Professionals' Phone Conferences
- Reminder: Complete Your Upgraded Fellow and Pathfinder Directory Profiles
- Fellows Soar to New Heights at United Learning Experience
- Recent Regional Events
- Welcome, New Members!
- In the News
- In Memoriam
Did You Know?
The Fellows Alumni have released their 2018 Year in Review brochure.
Three Fellows Alums Reach the Leadership Ranks
We'd like to congratulate the following LCLD Fellows Alumni on their recent promotions:
Jovita Foster (left), 2017 Fellow, is now Vice President, General Counsel & Secretary at Drury Hotels. Joseph Hanna (right), 2014 Fellow, has been elected to Goldberg Segalla’s five-person Management Committee. Samara Schwartz (center), 2017 Fellow, is now General Counsel at Hogsalt Hospitality.
One Week Left to Submit 2019 Fellow Nominations
2018 Fellows at the LCLD 2018 Fellows Second Meeting in Washington, D.C., October 2018. (Photo by Wilma Jackson)
As a reminder, please submit your 2019 Fellows nominations by the extended deadline of Friday, February 1, 2019.
The Fellows Program is a one-year, multifaceted, relationship-building, and leadership-training experience for diverse lawyers with 8-15 years of practice experience and demonstrated leadership potential. As LCLD's flagship program, all Fellows must be handpicked by LCLD Members themselves.
Please be sure to review the program selection criteria and fees before submitting your nomination(s). We also encourage you to review the Member Tool Kit for the Fellows Program and the 2019 Fellows Program Prospectus.
For questions, please contact Nichole Velasquez, Program Manager.
Two Weeks Left to Submit 2019 Pathfinder Selections
2018 Pathfinders at the LCLD 2018 Pathfinder Second Meeting in Purchase, NY, last November. (Photo by Joe Mahoney)
As a reminder, please submit your 2019 Pathfinder selections by Friday, February 8, 2019. Please note that many 1L LCLD Scholars are now employed by LCLD Member organizations and are eligible to become 2019 Pathfinders!
The goal of the Pathfinder Program is to provide early-career attorneys with essential "soft" skills including leadership, relationship building, networking, and career planning to benefit both Pathfinders and the organizations for whom they work. Law firm candidates should have 3-7 years of practice experience. In-house candidates should have up to 3 years of in-house experience, and less than 8 total years of practice experience.
Please be sure to review the program selection criteria and fees and the 2019 Pathfinder Program Prospectus before submitting your selection(s). Note that you will also need to identify a Pathfinder Program Facilitator upon selecting your Pathfinder.
For questions, please email Erin Hess, Program Manager.
Schedule of 2019 Diversity Professionals' Phone Conferences
Asker Saeed (r), Director of Diversity & Inclusion at Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP, and other LCLD diversity professionals. (Photo by Jay Haas)
LCLD hosts a quarterly Diversity Professionals' Phone Conference in which we provide information on our action programs and give diversity professionals an opportunity to ask questions and provide us with feedback on your participation experiences. The call is also intended to help orient new diversity professionals to LCLD and provide an open forum for questions, feedback, and suggestions.
2019 Diversity Professionals' Phone Conferences:
- Tuesday, January 15, 2019, 2:00-3:00 pm ET. If you missed the first call of the year, please click here to read the meeting minutes.
- Wednesday, April 17, 2019, 2:00-2:30 pm ET.
- Wednesday, August 14, 2019, 2:00-2:30 pm ET.
Reminder emails with agendas will be sent to diversity professionals in the weeks leading up to each call. The latest meeting minutes will be emailed following each call and posted on the Diversity Professionals resource page.
For questions about the Diversity Professionals' Phone Conferences, please contact Jennifer Denton, Membership & Operations Director.
Reminder: Complete Your Upgraded Fellow and Pathfinder Directory Profiles
As a reminder, LCLD has upgraded the directories serving Fellows and Pathfinders to provide a secure, searchable, password-protected environment in which to share contact info, practice areas, and more. Click here to learn more about the new directories.
Fellows and Pathfinders, you should have received instructions on how to update your profiles and create your LCLD accounts. However, if you did not receive these instructions or have any difficulties setting up your account, you can reach out to FellowsDirect@lcldnet.com (for Fellows) or PathDirect@lcldnet.com (for Pathfinders). You can also find detailed instructions and answers to common questions here.
Fellows Soar to New Heights at United Learning Experience
By Nichole Velasquez, LCLD Fellows Program Manager
Fellows at the United Airlines headquarters in Chicago. (Photo by Johnny Walker, United Airlines)
The LCLD Fellows flew into Chicago, Illinois, on September 17-18, 2018 to visit the headquarters of United Airlines for a Learning Experience hosted by LCLD Member Brett Hart, Executive Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer, General Counsel of United, and former LCLD board treasurer.
The Learning Experience began with a Welcome Reception hosted at United’s corporate headquarters—the famous Willis Tower. At the reception, Hart sat down with and LCLD President Robert Grey for a "fireside chat," discussing Hart’s career path and advice to emerging leaders. A few brave Fellows also got a private view from the Willis Tower Skydeck on the building’s 103rd floor.
The next morning, Fellows were welcome by two leaders from the United Legal Department: Jennifer Kraft, Deputy General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, and Vania Wit, Vice President and Deputy General Counsel. Kraft and Wit provided an overview of the legal department and discussed issues related to hiring, working with outside counsel, and United’s pro bono program. Toby Enqvist, Senior Vice President and Chief Customer Officer, then discussed recent changes made to enhance the customer experience.
Fellows also received an unexpected visit from Oscar Munoz, United’s Chief Executive Officer. While Fellows may have been surprised to see the CEO passing by, United employees said it was not unusual for him to take an interest in an event like this. Munoz discussed the company’s Core 4 values and answered questions from Fellows on company culture and metrics for success. Read more and view photos.
The next Learning Experience will be hosted at LPL Financial in Charlotte, NC on February 7, 2019, by LCLD Member Michelle Oroschakoff, Managing Director and Chief Legal & Risk Officer. For questions about hosting a Learning Experience, please contact Nichole Velasquez.
Recent Regional Events
We'd like to thank the following LCLD affiliates for hosting recent regional events:
- Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP and the LCLD Fellows Alumni hosted the LCLD Fellows Alumni Speaker Series: Erwin Chemerinsky on Affirmative Action: Race, Politics, and Higher Education, on December 17, 2018 at the San Francisco office of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius.
- Troutman Sanders LLP and the LCLD Fellows Alumni will sponsor an LCLD Movie Night: On the Basis of Sex on January 24, 2019 at Cinemark in Redwood City, CA.
- LCLD Members Verona Dorch, Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer, Government Affairs, and Corporate Secretary at Peabody Energy Corporation, and Cameron Garrison, Managing Partner at Lathrop & Gage LLP, will speak to Fellows at a Leadership Lunch on January 29, 2019 at the St. Louis, MO, office of Peabody Energy.
- Ice Miller LLP, Microsoft Corporation, and the LCLD Fellows Alumni will sponsor the Fellows Alumni Experiential Learning Series: Understanding GDPR Compliance in the Culture of Privacy on January 29, 2019. Guests may attend online or at the in-person event hosted at the Chicago office of Ice Miller LLP. We also thank speakers Phil Armstrong (Microsoft) and LCLD Fellows Alumni Stephen Reynolds (Ice Miller) and Alicia Rosenbaum (Microsoft) in advance.
For questions about hosting a Leadership Lunch, please contact Nichole Velasquez. For questions about other regional events, please contact Erin Hess.
Welcome, New Members!
Stephen Beard, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, Adtalem Global Education. We provide global access to knowledge that transforms lives and enables careers.
Brian Donnelly, Partner and Chairman, Farella Braun + Martel LLP. Farella Braun + Martel is a leading Northern California law firm representing corporate and private clients in sophisticated business transactions and complex commercial, civil, and criminal litigation. Founded in 1962, we are headquartered in San Francisco and maintain an office in the Napa Valley that is focused on the wine industry.
One of Farella’s core values is a deep commitment to diversity and inclusion. Our attorneys and staff hail from different backgrounds, races, religions, genders, and sexual orientations. Farella’s diversity reflects the diversity in the communities in which we live and work. It permits us to tackle the most difficult and sensitive problems from multiple viewpoints to provide truly innovative solutions. Farella is proud to become an LCLD Member organization and partner in building a more open and diverse legal profession.
Laura Schumacher, Vice Chairman, External Affairs, and Chief Legal Officer, AbbVie. AbbVie is a global research and development-based biopharmaceutical company committed to developing innovative advanced therapies for some of the world's most complex and critical conditions. The company's mission is to use its expertise, dedicated people, and unique approach to innovation to markedly improve treatments across four primary therapeutic areas: immunology, oncology, virology, and neuroscience. In more than 75 countries, AbbVie employees are working every day to advance health solutions for people around the world.
In the News
James Chosy, LCLD Member General Counsel of US Bancorp, discussed the ways in which he pushes for innovation in his legal department.
Sandra Seville-Jones (not pictured), LCLD Member and Co-Managing Partner, and Kuruvilla Olasa (left), 2018 Pathfinder and Litigation Partner, describe how Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP’s family-friendly culture led to its diverse 2019 partner class.
Jason Barnwell, 2016 Fellow and Assistant General Counsel at Microsoft Corporation, wrote an article for Legal Evolution on how to become an “architect” lawyer rather than a “bricklayer” lawyer—a discussion sparked by participation in the Fellows Program.
Josetta Jones, 2014 Fellow and Managing IP Counsel at Chevron, was profiled in Modern Counsel for her work mentoring young women and helping them find opportunities in STEM fields.
Adine Momoh, 2013 Fellow and Partner at Stinson Leonard Street LLP, was profiled in Mitchell Hamline Law magazine for her new role as the first black woman and youngest person to lead the Hennepin County Bar Association.
Amanda Rios, 2018 Pathfinder and Associate at Dechert LLP, co-wrote an article for the National Law Journal on navigating a compliance crisis.
Various LCLD Member organizations were also featured in the news.
See What's Working at LCLD Member organizations. Read about innovative solutions for creating a more inclusive legal profession and find out if what's working for these organizations can work for yours, too. To submit an initiative, please email Caitlin Puffenberger, LCLD Communications Specialist.
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.
In Memoriam
Katie Spies Giumenti, a 2014 LCLD Fellow at Brickler & Eckler in Columbus, Ohio, passed away on January 12, 2019, after a long battle with cancer. In an email announcement to staff, James Flynn, Managing Partner at Bricker, honored Katie’s professionalism, good humor, and humanity:
“She taught us how important it was to be kind, and take the extra moment to greet, speak with and be friendly to everyone we encounter, no matter their title or role. Call it Katie’s version of the Bricker way. Peace be with you, Katie.”
Katie is survived by her husband, sister, and two sons. Her obituary ran in The Times-Reporter (New Philadelphia, Ohio) on January 16, 2019. Donations in Katie’s honor can be made to the Stefanie Spielman Fund for Breast Cancer Research through the Ohio State University at 1145 Olentangy River Rd., Columbus, OH 43212.
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.
