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MCCA Empowering People. Inspiring Leadership.

CREATING A SMALL SUCCESSFUL LEGAL TEAM

SUCCESSION PLANNING

15 RAINMAKERS WHO ALWAYS SHINE

EXPERIENCED WOMEN LAWYERS HEAD BACK TO WORK

DIVERSITYDIVERSITY & THEBAR

MCCA’s 16th Annual GC Survey

CONTENTS Visit www.mcca.com for the latest informationon our events, awards and research.

F EAT U R E S

12 MCCA’s 16th Annual General Counsel SurveyBy Lydia LumMCCA presents its annual report on women and minority general counsel of Fortune® 500 and 1000 companies. The survey examines current trends and developments for the diverse legal leaders in the c-suite of America’s most successful companies. In addition to this exclusive annual report, Diversity & the Bar’s writer Patrick Folliard has profiled six general counsel on our list.

32 Creating a Successful Small Legal Department: 10 InsightsBy Richard Q. RussethThe emotional intelligence of the legal department is a big factor in its success or failure. High emotional intelligence, high results; low emotional intelligence, well, you know. Read 10 insights from this general counsel on how his small legal team serves its global private company.

36 How OnRamp Fellowships Connect Experienced Female Lawyers with Law FirmsBy Lekan OguntoyinboThe OnRamp Fellowship was conceived more than a year ago as a way to bring law firms and qualified veteran lawyers together. Learn about the program, and meet the talented women it has impacted.

40 ABA Makes History: Meet Paulette Brown, ABA PresidentBy Jonathan GronerAs the first black woman to become president of the American Bar Association, Paulette Brown regards herself as fortunate to be granted a role in helping solve the nation’s racial problems. And she believes that her efforts are only a part of a larger trend: Lawyers and the law can and must be a key part of the solutions.

44 Tips for a Successful SuccessionBy Toni ColemanHere are two pressing trends concerning corporate general counsel today: They are increasingly taking on executive and strategic management duties, and more of those in the baby boomer generation are retiring. Glean insight into how other c-suite lawyers handle succession planning.

48 Advancement of Female Attorneys in Law Firms—Where Are We Today?By Stephanie ResnickIn July 2013, the National Association of Women Lawyers issued a report called “Actions for Advancing Women in Law Firm Leadership and in the General Counsel’s Office.” So, what is the status of advancing female attorneys today? What can female attorneys do to succeed?

52 15 Rainmakers Who Always ShineBy Patrick FolliardMCCA’s Annual List of Rainmakers proves that the profession has talented lawyers who also have valuable business development skills. This list includes attorneys from around the country who practice a wide variety of law. Their success stories offer insight and value to lawyers at every career stage.

60 LMJ Scholars, Class of 2005: Where Are They Now?By Glenn CookThe LMJ Scholarship program seeks to nurture the academic and professional careers of outstanding law students and advance the diversity pipeline to the legal profession. In 10 years, the program has raised $2.85 million and connected many law students with law firms and legal departments. Ever wonder what happened to those eager law students? This new series will provide you with a class update and a personal story about what happened after law school.

2 D I V E R S I T Y & T H E B A R NOV.DEC.2015 MCCA.COM

CONTENTS

M C CA® B O A R D O F D I R E CTO R SStuart AlderotySenior Executive Vice President & General CounselHSBC North America Holdings Inc.Ricardo AnzalduaExecutive Vice President & General CounselMetLife Inc.Michelle BanksExecutive Vice President, Global General Counsel, Corporate Secretary & Chief Compliance OfficerGap Inc.Janice P. BrownOwner & FounderBrown Law GroupA.B. Cruz IIIExecutive Vice President & General CounselEmergent Biosolutions Inc.Clarissa CerdaChief Legal StrategistLifeLock Inc.Anthony K. GreeneExecutive Vice PresidentJamison Insurance GroupJean LeeVice President & Assistant General CounselJP Morgan Chase Legal Department

Sandra LeungSenior Vice President, General Counsel & Corporate SecretaryBristol-Myers Squibb CompanyDon H. LiuExecutive Vice President, General Counsel & SecretaryXerox CorporationGwen MarcusExecutive Vice President, General CounselShowtime Networks Inc.Suzan MillerCorporate Secretary, Vice President, Deputy General CounselIntel CorporationRobbie E.B. NarcisseVice President of Global Ethics and Business Practices Pitney Bowes Inc. Corporate Legal DepartmentSamuel M. ReevesSenior Vice President, General Counsel Walmart International LegalRobin SangstonVP/Chief Compliance OfficerCox Communications Inc.Kenneth S. SiegelChief Administrative Officer & General CounselStarwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc.

Dawn SmithSenior Vice President, Chief Compliance Officer & SecretaryVMwareMary E. SnappCorporate VP, Deputy General CounselMicrosoft Business Development and EvangelismLawrence P. TuSenior EVP & Chief Legal OfficerCBS CorporationNeil WilcoxSenior Vice President & Associate General CounselFirst Data CorporationMichael WilliamsExecutive Vice President & General CounselStaples Inc.Simone WuSenior Vice President, General Counsel, Corporate Secretary & Chief Compliance OfficerJoseph K. WestPresident & CEOMinority Corporate Counsel AssociationBoard Members EmeritusThomas L. Sager, Ballard Spahr LLPHinton J. Lucas Catherine A. LamboleyLloyd M. Johnson, Chief Legal Executive LLC

P U B L I CAT I O N S STA F FPresident & CEOJoseph K. WestEditor-in-ChiefKimberly A. Howard, CAE

Design/Art DirectionBonoTom Studio Inc.AdvertisingM.J. Mrvica Associates Inc.

MCCA® StaffStacy BanksShikha BhatnagarMahzarine ChinoyDavid ChuDonna CrookCharles H. Hollins Jr.Behnaz MistryAracely Muñoz PetrichAndrea Pimm

G E N E R A L I N F O R M AT I O NAdvertisingFor advertising inquiries, contact M.J. Mrvica Associates Inc. at mjmrvica@mrvica.com.

MCCA® MembershipPlease visit www.mcca.com/ membership for membership information.General Information and Address ChangesSend your questions, complaints and compliments to MCCA®, Kim Howard, CAE, Editor in Chief, kimhoward@mcca.com. Address changes should be sent to membership@mcca.com.Permissions and ReprintsReproduction of Diversity & the Bar in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. To obtain permission, visit www.mcca.com/dbmagazine and click on reprint request.

CopyrightCopyright® 2015 by the Minority Cor-porate Counsel Association, Diversity & the Bar is published six times a year and is distributed to supporters and subscribers, 1111 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20004. The information contained in this publication has been provided to the Minority Corporate Counsel Association (MCCA®) by a variety of independent sources. While MCCA makes every effort to present accurate and reliable information, MCCA does not endorse, approve or certify such information, nor does MCCA guarantee the accuracy, completeness, efficacy or chronological sequence of any such in-formation. Use of such information on the readers’ part is entirely voluntary, and reliance upon it should be under-taken only upon independent review and due diligence. References to any commercial product, process or ser-vice by trade name, trademark, service mark, manufacturer or otherwise shall not constitute or imply endorsement, preference, recommendation or the favor of MCCA.

MCCA (including its employees and agents) assumes no responsibility for consequence resulting from the use of the information herein, or in any respect for the content of such information, including (but not limited

to) errors or omissions; the accuracy or reasonableness of factual or other data, including statistical or scientific assumptions, studies or conclusions; the defamatory nature of statements; ownership of copyright or other intellectual property rights; and the vi-olation of property, privacy or personal rights of others. MCCA is not respon-sible for, and expressly disclaims and denies liability for, damages of any kind arising out of use, reference to or reliance upon such information. No guarantees or warranties, including (but not limited to) any express or im-plied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular use or purpose, are made by MCCA with respect to such information.

Copyright in this publication, in-cluding all articles and editorial infor-mation contained herein, is exclusively owned by MCCA, and MCCA reserves all rights to such information.

MCCA is a tax-exempt corporation organized in accordance with section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Its tax ID number is 13-3920905.

NOV.DEC.2015

C O LU M N S

4 | NOTES FROM THE PRESIDENTWhen Talent Development Is Purposeful, It Pays DividendsBy Joseph K. West

5 | BUSINESS TRANSACTIONSThe Business of Africa: Can It Become the Next China?By Alonzo L. Llorens

6 | CAREER EVOLUTIONPearls of Wisdom from Your PeersBy DeAnna D. Allen

7 | DIVERSE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENTCalgarians Celebrating DiversityBy Lucy L’Hirondelle

8 | GENERAL COUNSEL INSIGHTCreating and Sustaining an Effective Partnership with the BusinessBy Miguel R. Rivera Sr.

10 | SPOTLIGHTINGRamón A. AbadinBy Patrick Folliard

64 | PROFILE IN PERSEVERANCESenator Cyrus Habib: Illuminating the DarknessBy Tom Calarco

68 | MOVERS & SHAKERS

N OT E S F R O M T H E P R E S I D E N T & C E O BY JOSEPH K. WEST

When Talent Development Is Purposeful, It Pays DividendsUnited Continental Holdings Inc.’s CEO Oscar Munoz took medical leave indefinitely in mid-October. His temporary replacement is the company’s General Counsel, Brett J. Hart, who is acting CEO. Mr. Hart is also a minority and included in our 16th Annual General Counsel Survey.

United said that Mr. Hart had taken on a broader role since becoming general counsel and had given him oversight of customer service. Like many of his peers, Mr. Hart’s legal work stepped beyond his role as general counsel.

According to our survey, only 51 general coun-sel of color make up the Fortune® 500, down from 54 the year before. More than 60 of these compa-nies have appointed new chief counsel since the previous survey. The need for bench strength is clear. Only fi ve (six if you count Mr. Hart) CEOs of Fortune® 500 companies are African-American yet 12.9 percent of America’s population are Afri-can-American according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau’s National Population results. Had Mr. Hart not been part of United’s c-suite, he could not have been considered for his current role as acting CEO. Diversity and inclusion initiatives matter not only for the business benefi t to the organization but for the future leaders we create today for tomorrow.

120 women are now GC of Fortune® 500 com-panies, up from seven more than a year ago and 15 more than two years ago. This is the fi fth straight year that the roster of women has topped 100. But, men still enjoy a 2-to-1 advantage in landing jobs as the GC of Fortune® 500 companies. Interest-ingly, male-dominated industries are choosing women to lead their legal teams, a trend that has continued in the last few years.

As we usher in 2016, please know that MCCA continues to bring you the tools, resources and network to expand your diversity and inclusion ef-

forts in your organizations. Please add these 2016 event dates to your calendar:

■ April 13-16, General Counsel Summit, Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.;

■ July 18, Creating Pathways to Diversity Confer-ence, Washington, DC;

■ July 19, Diversity Gala, Washington, DC; and ■ October 6-7, CLE Expo, New Orleans, La.

Finally, we are delighted to bring you anoth-er diverse group of lawyers in our 2015 Annual Rainmakers list. These talented lawyers hail from a variety of fi rms, practices and experiences, but one thing that they all have in common is that they truly understand their clients. Additionally, their books of business refl ect their success. We hope that you enjoy reading this issue as much as we have enjoyed putting it together.

MCCA_law www.facebook.com/mcca.law

4 D I V E R S I T Y & T H E B A R NOV.DEC.2015 MCCA.COM

According to World Population Review, Africa is made up of 54 sovereign states and countries, two de facto independent states and nine territories. Popula-tion on the continent has grown rapidly over the past 40 years, and its population is youngest among all of the continents. At 1.2 billion people, the continent of Africa only falls behind the countries of China (1.4 billion) and India (1.24 billion) in terms of total popula-tion, according to the World Factbook.

The Obama Administration has placed special emphasis on Africa, as reflected in President Obama’s visit to Kenya for the 2015 Global Entrepreneurship Summit. This summit was the sixth annual gather-ing of entrepreneurs at all stages of business devel-opment, business leaders, mentors and high-level government officials. Another example of the U.S. commitment is the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, which “helps U.S. businesses gain foot-holds in emerging markets, catalyzing revenues, jobs and growth opportunities both at home and abroad,” according to its website. As a result of President Obama’s Power Africa initiative, unveiled in 2013, OPIC has played a major role by committing $1.5 billion of financing and insurance to develop energy projects throughout sub-Saharan Africa.

It is also noteworthy that there are 29 stock ex-changes in Africa representing 38 nations’ capital markets. Three of the oldest exchanges in Africa are the Egyptian Exchange (founded in 1883), Johannes-burg Stock Exchange (founded in 1887) and Casablanca Stock Exchange of Morocco (founded in 1929). An example of total returns for three of the largest African

exchanges compared to the S&P, as of July 31, 2015, based upon data provided by Investing In Africa, is shown in the chart on the left.

There are several well-known challenges in parts of Africa that affect the private sector’s ability to maxi-mize business opportunities. These include terrorism, the stability of certain governments, corruption, health concerns and war. Additionally, while there are many African stock exchanges, many of them face challenges as well, including lack of liquidity, lack of transparency and lack of reliable, up-to-date technology.

As indicated above, many people believe that these challenges are not insurmountable. An emphasis on the following will go a long way in doing so:

■■ Continued focus on Africa by the U.S. from a foreign policy perspective.

■■ Continued economic investment by the U.S. in Africa.■■ Investment of private capital in U.S. companies seek-ing to do business in Africa.

■■ Increasing strategic partnerships between U.S. corpo-rations and African companies.

■■ Training of African Stock Exchanges by the U.S. Secu-rities and Exchange Commission.

While there are many factors that currently limit the amount of business activity between U.S. companies and African countries, the opportunities are substan-tial. As such, the U.S. government and the U.S. private sector must continue to eliminate and overcome these challenges. African business can generate an enormous volume of business transactions under the right circum-stances. So as the business in Africa attempts to take off, the U.S. and U.S. businesses should lead the way. ■

ALONZO L. LLORENS (allorens@gordonrees.com) is a partner with Gordon & Rees LLP and a member of the Business Transactions Practice Group.

B U S I N E S S T R A N S ACT I O N S BY ALONZO L. LLORENS

The Business of Africa: Can It Become the Next China?

With a land mass equal to the sum of the land mass of the United States, India and Europe combined and a population of roughly 1.2 billion people, as of 2015, the continent of Africa has unlimited economic potential. There are multiple challenges that currently prohibit Africa from reaching its full economic potential. However, all of these challenges can be overcome and, with positive change, business transactions between African and U.S. companies can sharply increase.

Stock Market 1Y 3Y 5YJohannesburg Stock Exchange –9.9% –3.4% 6.7%Nigerian Stock Exchange –41.8% 5.7% –11.0%Zimbabwe Stock Exchange –22.7% 9.4% 11.0%S&P500 9.0% 52.5% 91.0%

MCCA.COM NOV.DEC.2015 D I V E R S I T Y & T H E B A R 5

Pearls of Wisdom from Your Peers

Question 1: Describe some-thing you have done as part of your personal profession-al development that had a very positive impact on your career.

“Building my personal brand to refl ect the qualities my [company] values most has signifi cantly and positively impacted my career develop-ment. My internal clients rely on my brand’s consistency, and I thrive on representing my brand unapologeti-cally and without compromising my ethics and values.”

“I took a job at a litigation boutique law fi rm right out of law school. The skills that I acquired from that experience in terms of critical think-ing, managing cases and people, and managing client expectations have proven to be very valuable in my professional career.”

“I helped form and lead the His-panic and Latino employee affi nity group. It enabled me to get out of my

comfort zone, do something totally diff erent, meet new people across the organization and get out into the community. Personally, I found it very rewarding to build something new that would have an impact.”

Question 2: Describe a time when you faced a diff icult career chal-lenge. How did you deal with it, and what did you learn from it?

“I have been laid off twice. During the time of a job transition, the uncertainty is extremely stressful. It

is hugely important to stay positive and say to yourself, ‘Six months from now I will be in a much better place.’ Develop your professional relationships now.”

“I decided to stay at a large fi rm, even though it was not a good fi t. I talked with my mentors who helped me develop a plan to gain the expe-riences from the fi rm that would be most benefi cial to me professionally. I learned that you need to have a

plan for every position you take.”

The above responses provide me the privilege of closing out the fi nal column of 2015 with messages of honesty, grit, vulnerability, strength and strategic vision that under-score what I hope have been key themes of this column.

Regardless of whether your career feels like it’s skyrock-

eting or stagnating, be strategic, be genuine, be engaged, be determined and be resourceful. We each are works in progress, and we each ex-perience ups and downs. Through-out it all, however, we each have tremendous power to direct where we go within the profession—I hope that this column has encouraged you to fully use yours! ■

DEANNA D. ALLEN(dallen@cooley.com) is a partner at Cooley LLP and a member of the Intellectual Property Litigation and Patent Counseling & Prosecution

practice groups.

THIS COLUMN HAS PROVIDED ME WITH A PLATFORM to encourage attor-neys to take active ownership of their careers, to not overlook the importance of developing their soft skills and to be proactive and persistent about finding (or, if necessary, rooting out) opportunities for career development. In this, the last installment of this column for the year, I share responses to two pro-fessional development questions that I posed to several senior-level in-house attorneys whose careers are thriving. I know from personal observation and experience that these attorneys care deeply about our profession and believe that diversity plays a positive and synergistic role in their own development and in that of the profession at large.

CA R E E R EVO LU T I O N BY DEANNA D. ALLEN

ISTOCK

6 D I V E R S I T Y & T H E B A R NOV.DEC.2015 MCCA.COM

Our Montréal, Toronto and Ottawa offices have actively supported LGBTQA organizations such as Pride at Work, Out on Bay Street, Out on the Shelf, Egale Canada, GRIS-Montréal and the Canadian Centre for Gender and Sexual Diversity, to name a few. The Calgary office has recently picked up the pace on its support, having become a strong supporter of Calgary Pride, the SHARP Foundation and Pride at Work. In the past year alone, the Calgary office has emerged as a true leader in the LGBTQA community in Calgary and has become the first national firm sponsor of Calgary Pride in 2014–15 and the exclusive named sponsor of the Pride kickoff party.

The involvement of our Calgary office with the SHARP Foundation, Calgary Pride, Pride at Work and others has shown us that LGBTQA events are on the rise and gaining momentum, with attendance at longstanding events at an all-time high. A perfect example is the new parade route for this year’s Cal-gary Pride Parade, which after 25 years, has outgrown its traditional Eighth Avenue route.

The increased involvement of this office in Calgary’s LGBTQA community mirrors a shift in the manner in which Calgarians tend to see and promote diversity in the city. Spurred by Mayor Naheed Nenshi’s election in 2010, the city of Calgary has made great headway

in celebrating diversity, inclusion and human rights. Mayor Nenshi constantly stresses that “It’s about inclusion. It’s about diversity. And the thing that makes us successful, as I’ve said many, many times, is that here in this city we wel-come everyone, and we give everyone the chance to live a great life.” Norton Rose Fulbright couldn’t agree more.

Brian Burke’s move to the Calgary Flames may prove to be another signif-icant factor in effecting change to the once conservative cow-town. Burke has been a well-known gay rights ambassa-dor and has spoken at multiple seminars and events on the topic of inclusion and anti-bullying. This is an important mes-sage for everyone, and we can be proud that it is one associated with Calgary’s NHL team.

Merging the LGBTQA community with the corporate community is the next big step for Norton Rose Fulbright’s National Pride Committee. I serve as the Calgary representative on the committee, and my work facilitating connections between the corporate-focused organi-zations with community ones is a central focus of my involvement. As a major international firm, we are in the position to leverage our size and scope to make a change. We choose to be a part of the communities around the globe in which our firm conducts business and to focus not only on corporate initiatives but also

important community projects. I credit this holistic approach as the innovative heart of the Calgary office. Supporting corporate diversity is just good business, and many firms are starting to realize that. It is in the support of the communi-ty organizations that we stand out.

Clients look to Norton Rose Fulbright to use the synergies it has developed across multiple jurisdictions, and this holistic approach is just another method of developing those synergies. The firm’s work does not stop at its office doors, and neither does its support of diversity and inclusion. While we are proud to be an industry leader in Calgary, greater strides toward creating a more diverse and inclusive city will be better devel-oped as more companies and firms get on board. ■

LUCY L’HIRONDELLE (lucy.lhirondelle@nortonrosefulbright.com) is an associate in the Litigation Practice Group at the Calgary office of Norton Rose Fulbright. Her focus is on commercial litigation, and she is

acquiring experience in management-side employment matters. She is a member of the National PRIDE Committee and volunteers with ProBono Alberta. The author wishes to thank Elisabeth Trotter and Noren Hirani, students at Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP, for their contributions.

Calgarians Celebrating Diversity

D I V E R S E P R O F E S S I O N A L D EV E LO P M E N T BY LUCY L’HIRONDELLE

NEVER SAY NEVER. A lot can happen in a few short years, as evidenced by the progress that Calgary has made as a city in terms of promoting and supporting diversity and inclusion, and Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP (Norton Rose Fulbright) is ecstatic to be an active leader and contributor to such progress. While our commitment to diversity and inclusion spans many diverse communities, our continued support of, and contribution to, the LGBTQA community is but one testament of the firm’s commitment to further promote and support diversity and inclusion.

MCCA.COM NOV.DEC.2015 D I V E R S I T Y & T H E B A R 7

TrustThe single most important character-istic impacting an in-house counsel’s ability to be an effective advocate for her business partners is a strong re-lationship of trust. Trust is the milieu in which the attorney-client relation-ship thrives and grows. The trust her business partners have in her is the in-house attorney’s most important

and valuable asset. Trust is difficult to earn and easily lost. Trust comes from spending time with the client, under-standing the business and being in the trenches with the business partner during times of stress and difficulty. It comes when the in-house attor-ney devotes the time, energy, mental

focus and her significant abilities and experience to resolving difficult issues for the client.

The emotional release that the cli-ent has after issues are resolved binds the client to the attorney and creates bonds of trust that will serve to make the in-house attorney more effective in providing advice in the future. The in-house attorney must protect her relationship of trust with the client and ensure that nothing she does undermines that trust.

PartnershipToo many times law departments be-come the place where ideas go to die, where projects are slow tracked and where far too frequently the answer is “no.” This erodes trust and destroys the partnership. In-house attorneys must learn to close doors only when they open other doors for the client and find other ways to achieve the businesses’ objectives and strategies. The business must see the in-house attorney as its partner in achieving its businesses strategies. If the business does not, it will ignore her advice, or worse, refuse to seek her advice. Working hard to comply with the law, regulations, ethics and good busi-ness practices while finding creative

legal solutions to real-world business problems is how an in-house attorney creates partnerships and maintains trust.

PragmatismThe legal advice she gives as in-house counsel must be pragmatic. An aca-demic approach that is correct legally but that does not provide real-world solutions does nothing for the client, and it quickly erodes both trust and partnership. Being “right” may make the in-house attorney feel good, but it does nothing for the client, and it does nothing to move the business. An attorney’s advice that can be opera-tionalized and that helps achieve the businesses’ goals and strategies, while complying with the law and ethics, in ways that are effective and practical, is pragmatic legal advice.

Practicing law as an in-house attorney is rewarding and challenging. The most rewarding relationships are those formed based on trust earned, an effective partnership and success that comes to the business because of pragmatic legal advice. The in-house attorney cannot go wrong working to achieve these three relationship attributes. Achieving this will lead to a successful and long-term relationship with the business. ■

MIGUEL R. RIVERA SR. (rmiguel60@aol.com) is a former general counsel and commissioner of labor.

G E N E R A L C O U N S E L I N S I G H T BY MIGUEL R. RIVERA SR.

Creating and Sustaining an Effective Partnership with the Business

NOTHING IS MORE IMPORTANT TO THE EFFECTIVENESS of an in-house attorney than the relationship she forms with her business partners. The relationship between outside counsel and the business client is one of contract and choice and is primarily a managed business affiliation. However, the in-house attorney’s relationship with the business client is direct and personal and not one that leaves the business client with much of a realistic choice. The in-house attorney must be cognizant of this difference and work deliberately to maintain a solid and close relationship with the business.

The emotional release that the client has after issues are resolved binds the client to the attorney and creates bonds of trust that will serve to make the in-house attorney more effective in providing advice in the future.

8 D I V E R S I T Y & T H E B A R NOV.DEC.2015 MCCA.COM

2016 Calendar of Events

April 13-16General Counsel SummitPGA National Resort & SpaPalm Beach Gardens, FL

July 19 Diversity GalaJohn F. Kennedy Center for the Performing ArtsWashington, DC

July 18Creating Pathways to Diversity® ConferenceRenaissance Hotel Washington, DC

October 6-7CLE ExpoHyatt Regency New Orleans New Orleans, LA

Visit www.mcca.com/events

For sponsorship opportunities, visit www.mcca.com/events for more details please contact Shikha Bhatnagar, Director of Development at sponsorship@mcca.com or 202.739.5902.

Eric HolderFormer U.S. Attorney General

Lifetime Achievement Honoree

S P OT L I G H T I N G BY PATRICK FOLLIARD

Ramón A. Abadin

RAMÓN A. ABADIN IS ON A MISSION and, as the president of the third largest bar association in the nation, in an ideal position to effect change. As president of The Florida Bar, he is determined to bring the legal industry into the 21st century, challenging attorneys to recognize the importance of technology and the ways in which it is transforming the legal marketplace.

“Technology is changing every aspect of our practice,” Abadin says. “For instance, a little over five years ago there was no iPad, and now my entire work life is conducted from this device. Tech-nology changed my practice and, similarly, it’s changing the entire legal profession in terms of how we practice, where we practice and how legal services are delivered. As a result, the marketplace also

has evolved and is no longer law-yer-centric—it’s consumer-centric.”

According to Abadin, a Cu-ban-American, who practices with the international litigation firm Sedgwick LLP, it is imperative for attorneys to understand and welcome these changes. He is con-vinced that those who adapt will survive and ultimately thrive.

“There will be huge opportu-nities for those who embrace new technology,” Abadin says. “Lawyers

can serve more customers and have a better life. Technology allows you to work from anywhere, which impacts our business and our per-sonal lives. It means, for example, that commuting times are down and family time is up.”

Abadin also notes that tech-nology creates additional oppor-tunities for minorities in the legal community—an advancement that he strongly supports as a Cuban-American and advocate for a diversified legal profession. Cor-porate clients can more easily hire minorities directly at various firms to do subject-specific work.

“Minority attorneys can now go to a client and say, ‘I have the right experience; I can offer a better price and a quicker turn-around, and I don’t have to be in a big firm,’” Abadin says. “And if we don’t adapt and embrace that change, I don’t think the current model that we’re under will sur-vive very long.”

In addition to his responsibili-ties to The Florida Bar, Abadin is an accomplished trial attorney who fo-cuses his practice on complex com-mercial and business litigation with an emphasis on insurance matters from the firm’s Miami office. He has represented some of the world’s largest, international corporations in their most high-stakes legal chal-lenges and has amassed a lengthy

list of achievements in his three-decade-long career. Despite his accomplishments, however, Abadin recognizes that he, too, must con-tinue to evolve and embrace change to be successful.

“I’m 56. Without changing, I can survive another 10 years—maybe,” he says. “But as a firm leader and bar president, I have an obligation to make sure other lawyers can stay in business and practice law, which requires that I also embrace the change.”

Larry D. Smith, a founding partner of Southern Trial Counsel PLC in Orlando, and a member of The Florida Bar is unsure old dogs can learn new tricks. But, that said, he adds, “Ray [Abadin] presents the need for technological advances in the legal community with a clear sense of urgency, framed with a rap-idly changing global environment. Ray is already there and reaching back to help slow learners like me.”

Abadin’s advice is welcome, says Smith. “Ray leads from within; that is, he internally motivates people to want to do better. He has a simple, clear vision, which he implements with confidence and courage. He guides those around him with an easy hand, encouraging them to do better, rather than demanding that they not do less.”

Abadin’s strong values of leading by example and working hard are unsurprising considering his roots and upbringing. Born in Cuba, Abadin immigrated with his family to the United States when he was one year old.

“When we left, my parents took only one suitcase filled with baby

There will be huge opportunities for those who embrace new technology. Lawyers can serve more customers and have a better life.

10 D I V E R S I T Y & T H E B A R NOV.DEC.2015 MCCA.COM

clothes and diapers for me. They believed we’d be going back soon. But it didn’t quite work out that way.”

Instead, the family resided first in Atlanta, relocated to New Or-leans and later settled in Miami. Abadin’s father, who had been a lawyer in Havana, worked a number of different jobs to support their family. Despite dealing with a significant transition to a new country, Abadin describes an idyllic childhood where he played ball with the same friends every day after school and neighbors who were like extended family.

“My parents stressed the value of things that couldn’t be taken from you: education, integrity, friendship,” he says, “And hard work—there’s no substitute for hard work.”

Abadin took this message to heart, and he also held numerous odd jobs that required hard work from a young age, starting with a paper route. While earning his bachelor’s degree at Tulane Universi-ty, he also spent summers on a Mississippi dredge boat. He worked his way through a law degree at Loyola University New Orleans School of Law, which laid the foundation for his active and successful trial practice.

“I love the complicated, hard cases. And I love to go to trial,” Abadin says. “Of course, most cases are litigated to a reso-lution outside of court, which is often in the client’s best interest. But I’m happiest in court.”

Juliet M. Roulhac, regional manager and an attorney at Florida Power & Light Company, says Abadin gets to the heart of the matter very quickly and frames the case from the beginning.

“He is very transparent and says what he thinks and does what he says,” Roulhac said. “He is a strong trial lawyer, so much so that I recommended him to co-counsel in a significant FPL matter that the company was defending. His transparency will serve him well as bar president, also.”

It just so happens that Abadin’s term as president of The Florida Bar is coincid-ing with the opening of Cuba, and he is delighted.

“My term as Bar president could have been a year later or earlier, but it has worked out very serendipitously. I’ve said publicly that I want to take the bar on a high-level delegation to meet with the Cu-ban government and legal establishment to explore building a legal framework where we can work with each other.”

And because he speaks perfect Spanish (neither his English nor Spanish is accented), Abadin has a leg up. “I was recently speaking with Cuban diplomats, and my Spanish gave me a visceral connection with them. No filter. No need to interpret nuances or inflections. It was a substantive conversation.”

As a Cuban-American who has received support and guidance from many mentors throughout his ca-reer, Abadin believes in pay-ing it forward by supporting the advancement of quali-fied minorities and women in the Bar. During his tenure

as president-elect of The Florida Bar, for instance, he appointed the highest number of women to leadership and committee positions of any of the Bar’s past presidents to date.

“The only barrier had been the pen of the person making the appointments. I had an opportunity to change that, so I did.”

In the same straightforward and determined manner, Abadin hopes also to effect change with his focus on technol-ogy. “The changes are truly cataclysmic,” he says. “The law is the last professional bastion to be affected by the rapid change in technology, and there is a lot coming its way.

“Many of us lawyers are risk averse by nature and creatures of comfort. We’re wired to look backward and be cautious,” Abadin says. “But right now we need to be more flexible and think toward the future. Only then will we succeed.” ■

PATRICK FOLLIARD (epf2810@gmail.com) is a freelance writer based in Silver Spring, Md.

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Y Minorities and Women as Legal ChiefsIN THE OFT-TOLD “STARFISH THROWER” STORY, an adult happens upon a child along a shoreline who is tossing beached starfish back into the water one at a time.

“Why?” the adult asks. Most or all of the creatures will likely wash up on the sand again.

The youngster points out that his eff ort is important to each starfish.

This tale is a reminder that each of us can make a diff erence—if we try.

Granted, it can seem impossible against the constant tides of adversity. It’s tempting to give up or not bother at all. Some struggles cannot be won.

On the other hand, we won’t know which endeavors will prove successful if we don’t try.

12 D I V E R S I T Y & T H E B A R NOV.DEC.2015 MCCA.COM

JOIN US FOR A LOOK at the current representation

of minorities and women among Fortune® 500 and Fortune® 1000 general

counsel. You’ll likely see how you can help bring sea change to improve the

hiring, promotion and retention of these historically underrepresented

populations in corporate leadership.

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Minorities as General CounselCan Slipping Backward Result in Moving Forward?By Lydia Lum

ONE IN FOUR AFRICAN-AMERICANS who were Fortune® 500 legal chiefs a year ago have vacated those posts, fueling a dip in the number of minority general counsel among these companies.

Only 51 GCs of color populate the Fortune® 500, ac-cording to this year’s MCCA General Counsel Survey. The previous roster had 54 minorities.

Yet more than 60 of these companies have appointed new chief counsel since the previous survey. This excludes businesses employing interim or acting general counsel.

“The decrease in minority GCs is particularly alarming

because of the tremendous turnover across the board,” says Joseph K. West, MCCA president and CEO. “There has been plenty of opportunity in the past year, so there’s clearly a need for more bench strength.”

Retirement is one of the reasons behind the Fortune® 500 losing 25 percent of its African-Americans from the previous survey.

“Even those GCs lost to attrition reinforce my point,” West says. “Corporations have historically done a better job than law firms in developing diverse talent, but corpora-tions also struggle to keep momentum going.”

Minorities Fortune® 500COMPANY GENERAL COUNSEL

2014 RANK

2013 RANK INDUSTRY

AmerisourceBergen John Chou 16 28 Wholesalers: Health Care

Citigroup Rohan Weerasinghe 28 26 Commercial Banks

Home Depot Teresa Wynn Roseborough 33 33 Specialty Retailers: Other

MetLife Ricardo Anzaldua 39 42 Insurance: Life, Health (stock)

Google David C. Drummond 40 46 Internet Services and Retailing

PepsiCo Tony West 44 43 Food Consumer Products

United Parcel Service Teri Plummer McClure 47 50 Mail, Package and Freight Delivery

United Continental Holdings Brett Hart 79 78 Airlines

Cigna Nicole Jones 90 97 Health Care: Insurance and Managed Care

3M Ivan Fong 98 101 Miscellaneous

Publix Super Markets John Attaway Jr. 101 104 Food and Drug Stores

McDonald’s Gloria Santona 110 106 Food Services

U.S. Foods Juliette Pryor 128 133 Wholesalers: Food and Grocery

Raytheon Frank R. Jimenez¹ 129 126 Aerospace and Defense

Aflac Audrey Boone Tillman 132 125 Insurance: Life, Health (stock)

Abbott Laboratories Hubert Allen 134 136 Medical Products and Equipment

Fluor Carlos Hernandez 136 109 Engineering, Construction

Xerox Don H. Liu 143 137 Information Technology Services

Cummins Sharon Barner 154 168 Construction and Farm Machinery

eBay Marie Oh Huber¹ 172 180 Internet Services and Retailing

PG&E Corp. Hyun Park 182 183 Utilities: Gas and Electric

Centene Keith Williamson 186 251 Health Care: Insurance and Managed Care

Office Depot Elisa D. Garcia C. 194 248 Specialty Retailers: Other

Bristol-Myers Squibb Sandra Leung 195 176 Pharmaceuticals

Illinois Tool Works Maria Green 201 171 Industrial Machinery

CBS Lawrence P. Tu 212 182 Entertainment

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COMPANY GENERAL COUNSEL2014 RANK

2013 RANK INDUSTRY

Waste Management Barry Caldwell¹ 217 207 Waste Management

SYNNEX Simon Leung 220 260 Wholesalers: Electronics and Office Equipment

DaVita HealthCare Partners Kim Rivera 231 230 Health Care: Medical Facilities

Consolidated Edison Elizabeth Moore 236 225 Utilities: Gas and Electric

Entergy Marcus Brown 241 242 Utilities: Gas and Electric

Praxair Guillermo Bichara¹ 249 233 Chemicals

Guardian Life Ins. Co. of America Tracy Rich 254 245 Insurance: Life, Health (Mutual)

Ross Stores Ken Jew¹ 269 277 Specialty Retailers: Apparel

Unum Group Lisa Iglesias¹ 279 272 Insurance: Life, Health (stock)

Corning Lewis Steverson 297 343 Network and Other Communications Equipment

Targa Resources Paul Chung 329 395 Pipelines

Avis Budget Group Michael Tucker 336 340 Automotive Retailing, Services

Broadcom Arthur Chong 340 328 Semiconductors and Other Electronic Components

Dover Ivonne Cabrera 346 301 Industrial Machinery

American Family Insurance Group Mark Afable 358 373 Insurance: Property and Casualty (Stock)

Hershey Leslie Turner 376 366 Food Consumer Products

PetSmart Paulette Dodson 386 376 Specialty Retailers: Other

Agilent Technologies Hajime Tada¹ 389 384 Scientific, Photographic and Control Equipment

Huntington Ingalls Industries Kellye Walker¹ 390 382 Aerospace and Defense

Peabody Energy A. Verona Dorch¹ 398 365 Mining, Crude-Oil Production

Symantec Scott Taylor 405 378 Computer Software

Anixter International Justin Choi 420 420 Wholesalers: Diversified

Spectra Energy Reginald Hedgebeth 449 461 Pipelines

Asbury Automotive Group George Villasana 450 472 Automotive Retailing, Services

Hanesbrands Joia Johnson 490 530 Apparel1New to list

He adds, “This illustrates the importance of MCCA’s ongoing efforts. In addition to increasing and improving talent development, corporations need to seek out more diverse candidates when they’re hiring.”

Although their representation in the Fortune® 500 has dwindled, African-Americans haven’t been completely shut out of recent job opportunities.

Barry Caldwell was promoted to chief legal officer at Waste Management (217). Two women have won GC jobs this year: Kellye Walker jumped to Huntington Ingalls In-dustries (390) from American Water Works, and A. Verona Dorch joined Peabody Energy (398) from Harsco.

Still, some longtime diversity champions view these bright spots as far too few. After all, last year’s 54 minority

GCs marked the first time the figure had broken into the 50s. In 2013, it was 48. In 2012 and 2011, the minority head counts were 45 and 41, respectively.

“It’s disappointing to see the number of minority GCs in the Fortune® 500 backslide after several years of increases,” says Michelle Banks, chair of MCCA’s board of directors. A board member since 2007, Banks is executive vice presi-dent, global general counsel, corporate secretary and chief compliance officer at Gap (188).

MCCA board member Ricardo Anzaldua believes these modest annual head counts of minority legal chiefs might result from the same problem that has historically held down the numbers of law firm partners of color: a lack of sponsorship.

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“If you look at any organization, sponsors tend to iden-tify protégés who look like them, so it was rare for diverse professionals to have white, male sponsors,” says Anzaldua, who rose to partner during his 17 years at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP. “Consequently, diverse lawyers were less likely to draw assignments they needed to make partner. There was often lack of rapport and lack of com-munication between supervising partners and the diverse associates.”

Interestingly, a critical mass of diversity populated the junior ranks.

“Some years, the proportion of women among first-year associates was 50 percent and for people of color, 20 per-cent,” Anzaldua recalls. “But the demographics of part-ners at the firm never looked anything like the incoming

class. It was still primarily white men, so the attrition was remarkable.”

He adds, “I don’t think there’s deliberate focus on run-ning away from diverse general counsel, just like there isn’t deliberate effort to avoid having diverse partners at law firms. When you get down to it, it’s important to educate people about unconscious bias. And if we’re going to better diversify the legal profession, women and minorities need to have adequate sponsorship.”

At MetLife (39), where Anzaldua is currently executive vice president and general counsel, the legal department is in the process of launching a sponsorship initiative target-ing junior counsel whose energy and commitment indicate they’re potentially high performers. These racially diverse lawyers also include white men.

Minorities Fortune® 501–1000COMPANY GENERAL COUNSEL

2014 RANK

2013 RANK INDUSTRY

Neiman Marcus Group Tracy Preston 533 527 Specialty Retailers: Apparel

Bemis Sheri Edison 534 492 Packaging, Containers

Zoetis Heidi Chen 538 Pharmaceuticals

NVIDIA Brian Cabrera 553 589 Semiconductors and Other Electronic Components

MasTec Alberto de Cardenas 562 567 Engineering, Construction

Andersons Naran Burchinow 569 453 Food Production

KeyCorp Paul Harris 592 541 Commercial Banks

Towers Watson Kirkland Hicks 676 648 Diversified Outsourcing Services

Smart & Final Stores Donald Alvarado 677 Food and Drug Stores

Lennox International John Torres 693 689 Industrial Machinery

Hubbell An-Ping Hsieh 695 705 Electronics, Electrical Equipment

Alliant Energy James Gallegos 697 687 Utilities: Gas and Electric

C.R. Bard Samrat Khichi¹ 700 720 Medical Products and Equipment

EP Energy Marguerite Woung-Chapman 721 990 Mining, Crude-Oil Production

Citrix Systems Tony Gomes¹ 725 741 Network and Other Communications Equipment

Varian Medical Systems John Kuo 745 737 Medical Products and Equipment

Sabre Rachel Gonzalez 763 712 Internet Services and Retailing

Carter’s Michael C. Wu 779 798 Apparel

WGL Holdings Leslie T. Thornton 801 849 Energy

SunEdison Martin Truong 869 967 Semiconductors and Other Electronic Components

Newfield Exploration Timothy D. Yang¹ 903 790 Mining, Crude-Oil Production

Triple-S Management Carlos L. Rodríguez-Ramos 919 865 Health Care: Insurance and Managed Care

Hawaiian Holdings Hoyt Zia 920 926 Airlines

Public Storage Lily Yan Hughes¹ 952 974 Miscellaneous

Popular Javier D. Ferrer-Fernández¹ 970 820 Commercial Banks

RCS Capital James A. Tanaka 981 Securities1New to list

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Each senior member of Anzaldua’s legal team is required to sponsor at least one of these junior professionals. They de-vise career development plans for the junior counsel based on career goals. A securities lawyer, for instance, should be involved with a public offering, while a litigator ought to be first chair on a case.

“The idea is to create professional competencies and not just drop them into our organization to fend for themselves,” Anzaldua says of the junior lawyers.

To hold sponsors accountable, their work with the protégés becomes part of their annual performance review. Anzaldua says he welcomes ideas besides sponsorship, too.

By the Numbers The minority legal chiefs in the Fortune® 500 this year con-sist of 31 men and 20 women. That’s a net loss of two men and one woman from a year ago.

The breakdown by race this year is 25 African-Americans, 11 Hispanics and 15 Asian-Pacific Americans. One of the latter is South Asian. The previous survey yielded 29 Afri-can-Americans, 10 Hispanics, 14 Asian-Pacific Americans—one of whom was South Asian—and one multi-ethnic.

When surveying Fortune® 501–1000 companies—also known as Fortune® 1000—the current roster has 26 GCs of color, four more than a year ago.

But it’s important to note that this net increase in the head count doesn’t result from hiring and promotion alone. In fact, it stems partly from companies that climbed into the Fortune® rankings for the first time or returned to the list after an absence.

Two examples are GCs Donald Alvarado and Heidi Chen. Alvarado has held his post at Smart & Final Stores (677) since 1991. At Zoetis (538), Chen was named general counsel in 2012.

Currently, the Fortune® 1000 has 19 men and seven wom-en, with the latter tally unchanged from a year ago, plus a net gain of four men.

The breakdown by race this year is five African-Ameri-cans, nine Hispanics, 10 Asian-Pacific Americans and two multi-ethnics. The previous survey showed eight Afri-can-Americans, seven Hispanics, six Asian-Pacific Ameri-cans and one multi-ethnic.

Career Moves The people of color who recently became the top lawyers at the nation’s 1,000 most prosperous companies include Frank R. Jimenez, who joined aerospace and defense titan Raytheon (129). Earlier in his career, Jimenez was chief counsel at Xylem and ITT. He has also held jobs at the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Elsewhere, Internet marketplace eBay (172) successfully bid for the services of Marie Oh Huber, who most recently

ran the law department of Agilent Technologies. That led to Hajime Tada becoming interim GC of Agilent (389), where he previously served as lead counsel of the largest business unit at the company.

Guillermo Bichara secured a promotion at Praxair (249) when James Breedlove retired from the industrial gas dis-tributor, and at Ross Stores (269), Ken Jew rose to general counsel. Lisa Iglesias, who has appeared in MCCA’s survey more years than not, left WellCare Health Plans for Unum Group (279).

After appearing in another MCCA survey with Catalent Pharma Solutions, Samrat Khichi now leads the legal team at C.R. Bard (700). Tony Gomes was promoted to general coun-sel of Citrix Systems (725), which devises mobile workspace solutions.

Lily Yan Hughes became GC at Public Storage (952), while Timothy D. Yang was hired to the counterpart position at Newfield Exploration (903). Formerly the legal chief at another company, Yang is a 12-year veteran of the oil and natural gas exploration and production sector.

At Popular (970), Ignacio Álvarez was promoted from chief legal officer to president and chief operating officer, which paved the way for the commercial banking compa-ny to hire Javier D. Ferrer-Fernández. Formerly in private practice, Ferrer-Fernández has also been president of the Government Development Bank for Puerto Rico.

Departures include Teresa Sebastian from Darden Restaurants, Ricardo Nuñez from HD Supply, Gregory Nixon from CH2M Hill and R. Rene Carson from INTL FCStone.

Douglas Williams retired from L Brands, as did Roderick Pal-more from General Mills. Palmore has shifted to private practice.

Renewed Call to Action Anzaldua, the MetLife GC and MCCA board member, be-lieves that he and his GC peers are in ideal positions to effect change and expand opportunities for others.

“Becoming a GC is not the end of the line,” Anzaldua says. “It’s a beginning. Those of us who are diverse GCs should not just give speeches, nor should we just complain about old-school attitudes. Let’s talk about what else we can do to address this problem.”

Otherwise, he and others say, this year’s roster of 77 minority general counsel among the nation’s 1,000 biggest corporations won’t grow soon—if at all. As it is, the head count is only one more than a year ago.

“It’s important to drop the ladder down for others,” Anz-aldua says. “We have a serious, moral obligation to do so.”

A freelance writer and editor, LYDIA LUM (lydialum999@yahoo.com) is a former reporter for the Houston Chronicle and Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

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Women as General CounselProgress in Spite of Disparities and DisadvantagesBy Lydia Lum ALTHOUGH MEN ENJOY a 2-to-1 advantage in landing jobs as legal chiefs at Fortune® 500 companies, 120 women have served in such roles this year, according to the annual MCCA General Counsel Survey.

This head count is seven more than a year ago and 15 more than two years ago.

“It’s good to see a consistent increase in women in the Fortune® 500,” says Michelle Banks, chair of MCCA’s board of directors. “It will be significant to reach 25 percent and then 30 percent.”

This is the fifth straight year that the roster of women has topped 100.

Next year also holds promise, with women such as Stacey Friedman poised to take charge of corporate law departments.

Under a succession plan, Friedman is general coun-sel-designate at J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and has been a deputy to incumbent Stephen Cutler for several months. Prior to joining the commercial banking titan in 2012, Friedman was in private practice and represented J.P.

Women Fortune® 500COMPANY GENERAL COUNSEL

2014 RANK

2013 RANK INDUSTRY

Walmart Karen Roberts 1 1 General Merchandisers

Phillips 66 Paula Johnson 7 6 Petroleum Refining

McKesson Lori A. Schechter 11 15 Wholesalers: Health Care

UnitedHealth Group Marianne Short 14 14 Health Care: Insurance and Managed Care

Kroger Christine Wheatley 20 24 Food and Drug Stores

IBM Michelle H. Browdy¹ 24 23 Information Technology Services

Procter & Gamble Deborah Majoras 32 31 Household and Personal Products

Home Depot Teresa Wynn Roseborough 33 33 Specialty Retailers: Other

United Parcel Service Teri Plummer McClure 47 50 Mail, Package and Freight Delivery

ConocoPhillips Janet Langford Carrig 51 47 Mining, Crude-Oil Production

Prudential Financial Susan Blount 55 72 Insurance: Life, Health (stock)

Lockheed Martin Maryanne Lavan 64 59 Aerospace and Defense

FedEx Christine Richards 65 64 Mail, Package and Freight Delivery

Honeywell International Kate Adams 74 77 Electronics, Electrical Equipment

New York Life Insurance Sheila Davidson 80 88 Insurance: Life, Health (Mutual)

Oracle Dorian Daley 81 82 Computer Software

Nationwide Patricia Hatler 85 91 Insurance: Property and Casualty (Mutual)

Deere Mary K.W. Jones 86 80 Construction and Farm Machinery

DuPont Stacy Fox 87 86 Chemicals

American Express Laureen Seeger 88 90 Commercial Banks

Allstate Susan Lees 89 92 Insurance: Property and Casualty (Stock)

Cigna Nicole Jones 90 97 Health Care: Insurance and Managed Care

Sears Holdings Kristin Coleman 99 87 General Merchandisers

TJX Ann McCauley 103 108 Specialty Retailers: Apparel

NIKE Hilary Krane 106 115 Apparel

Avnet Erin Lewin 108 117 Wholesalers: Electronics and Office Equipment

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YMorgan in mortgage-backed securities litigation and its purchase of Washington Mutual.

“The development of female talent is resulting in pos-itive numbers and growth,” says Joseph K. West, MCCA president and CEO. “When talent development is purpose-ful, it pays dividends.”

Meanwhile, in keeping with MCCA’s survey findings in recent years, a growing number of companies in histor-ically male-dominated industries are choosing women to hammer out legal issues.

Take engineering and construction, for instance. Offi-cials at AECOM (343) hired Carla Christofferson as GC, and their peers at KBR (424) promoted Eileen Akerson.

Elsewhere, the technology sector has been heavily scru-

tinized—and criticized—for employing meager numbers of female engineers, software developers and senior execu-tives. But the GC post at tech companies has increasingly had women in it for years—Dorian Daley has run the law department at Oracle (81) since 2007, for instance—a trend that shows no signs of tapering off.

One of the higher-profile moves this year was Marie Oh Huber joining eBay (172) from Agilent Technologies. The hiring of Huber coincided with eBay completing its spinoff of PayPal. Louise Pentland, formerly Nokia’s chief legal officer, became GC of the stand-alone provider of digital payment platforms.

PayPal and eBay, which were born during the dot-com boom of the 1990s, aren’t alone in giving women the nod

COMPANY GENERAL COUNSEL2014 RANK

2013 RANK INDUSTRY

McDonald’s Gloria Santona 110 106 Food Services

International Paper Sharon Ryan 114 105 Packaging, Containers

Occidental Petroleum Marcia Backus 115 116 Mining, Crude-Oil Production

Duke Energy Julie Janson 116 123 Utilities: Gas and Electric

Union Pacific Gayla Thal 123 135 Railroads

Northrop Grumman Sheila Cheston 124 122 Aerospace and Defense

Alcoa Audrey Strauss 125 130 Metals

U.S. Foods Juliette Pryor 128 133 Wholesalers: Food and Grocery

Aflac Audrey Boone Tillman 132 125 Insurance: Life, Health (stock)

Community Health Systems Rachel Seifert 135 192 Health Care: Medical Facilities

AbbVie Laura J. Schumacher 146 152 Pharmaceuticals

Whirlpool Kirsten Hewitt 148 153 Electronics, Electrical Equipment

HollyFrontier Denise McWatters 150 145 Petroleum Refining

Cummins Sharon Barner 154 168 Construction and Farm Machinery

Dollar General Rhonda Taylor 159 164 General Merchandisers

Supervalu Karla Robertson 164 94 Food and Drug Stores

Altria Group Denise Keane 169 161 Tobacco

Tenet Healthcare Audrey Andrews 170 229 Health Care: Medical Facilities

eBay Marie Oh Huber¹ 172 180 Internet Services and Retailing

ConAgra Foods Colleen Batcheler 173 184 Food Consumer Products

United States Steel Suzanne Rich Folsom 176 166 Metals

Colgate-Palmolive Jennifer Daniels¹ 179 167 Household and Personal Products

Starbucks Lucy Helm 187 196 Food Services

Gap Michelle Banks 188 178 Specialty Retailers: Apparel

Office Depot Elisa D. Garcia C. 194 248 Specialty Retailers: Other

Bristol-Myers Squibb Sandra Leung 195 176 Pharmaceuticals

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COMPANY GENERAL COUNSEL2014 RANK

2013 RANK INDUSTRY

Illinois Tool Works Maria Green 201 171 Industrial Machinery

FirstEnergy Leila Vespoli 206 195 Utilities: Gas and Electric

Whole Foods Market Roberta Lang 214 218 Food and Drug Stores

Chubb Maureen Brundage 215 208 Insurance: Property and Casualty (Stock)

Health Net Kathleen Alyce Waters¹ 216 254 Health Care: Insurance and Managed Care

Marathon Oil Sylvia Kerrigan 227 188 Mining, Crude-Oil Production

DaVita HealthCare Partners Kim Rivera 231 230 Health Care: Medical Facilities

Texas Instruments Cynthia Hoff Trochu¹ 233 227 Semiconductors and other Electronic Components

Consolidated Edison Elizabeth Moore 236 225 Utilities: Gas and Electric

Visa Kelly Mahon Tullier 238 238 Financial Data Services

CSX Ellen Fitzsimmons 240 231 Railroads

VF Laura Meagher 248 241 Apparel

J.C. Penney Janet Link¹ 250 235 General Merchandisers

CDW Christine Leahy 253 265 Information Technology Services

PPL Joanne Raphael¹ 257 234 Utilities: Gas and Electric

R.R. Donnelley & Sons Suzanne Bettman 258 268 Publishing, Printing

L Brands Shelley Milano¹ 262 263 Specialty Retailers: Apparel

Sherwin-Williams Catherine Kilbane 266 278 Chemicals

Voya Financial Trish Walsh¹ 268 Insurance: Life, Health (stock)

Sempra Energy Martha Wyrsch 270 267 Utilities: Gas and Electric

Estée Lauder Sara Moss 271 279 Household and Personal Products

Public Service Enterprise Group Tamara Linde 274 284 Utilities: Gas and Electric

Unum Group Lisa Iglesias¹ 279 272 Insurance: Life, Health (stock)

Hilton Worldwide Holdings Kristin Campbell 280 289 Hotels, Casinos, Resorts

Principal Financial Karen Shaff 282 298 Insurance: Life, Health (stock)

Advance Auto Parts Tammy Finley¹ 294 402 Specialty Retailers: Other

Biogen Susan Alexander 298 375 Pharmaceuticals

Precision Castparts Ruth Beyer 302 322 Aerospace and Defense

Discover Financial Services Kelly McNamara Corley 303 296 Commercial Banks

AutoZone Kristen Collier Wright 307 300 Specialty Retailers: Other

Owens & Minor Grace den Hartog 309 303 Wholesalers: Health Care

Hormel Foods Lori Marco 310 311 Food Consumer Products

CenterPoint Energy Dana O’Brien 313 334 Utilities: Gas and Electric

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Teresa Rasmussen 333 335 Insurance: Life, Health (Mutual)

AECOM Carla Christofferson¹ 343 332 Engineering, Construction

Dover Ivonne Cabrera 346 301 Industrial Machinery

UGI Monica Gaudiosi 349 362 Energy

FMC Technologies Dianne Ralston¹ 357 368 Oil and Gas Equipment, Services

SpartanNash Kathy Mahoney 359 811 Wholesalers: Food and Grocery

WESCO International Diane Lazzaris 360 349 Wholesalers: Diversified

The Williams Companies Sarah C. Miller¹ 370 380 Energy

Hershey Leslie Turner 376 366 Food Consumer Products

Women Fortune® 500 (continued)

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to the general counsel job. Recent moves have occurred among decades-old, mainstay companies that formed the bedrock of technology as we know it today. For example, Michelle H. Browdy was promoted at IBM (24), as was Cynthia Hoff Trochu at Texas Instruments (233).

“At least large tech is making a serious effort to diversify their workforces and, to a certain extent, their corporate leadership,” says Banks, who’s also executive vice presi-dent, global general counsel, corporate secretary and chief compliance officer at Gap (188).

But that doesn’t preclude opportunities for women in industries dating back to a seemingly bygone era.

Just ask Barbara Wall. When media giant Gannett (441) finished dividing its print and broadcast properties into two corporations this year, Wall was promoted to chief legal officer of the entity housing USA Today and other newspapers.

However, Banks and others haven’t lost sight of the fact that, irrespective of industry type, men are hired and promoted to GC posts in the Fortune® 500 twice as often as women are.

“It doesn’t surprise me,” Banks says of the disparity. “Increased diversity has been consistently slow in coming in the legal profession. Unconscious bias is alive and well, unfortunately, in every work environment, including cor-porate America.”

One cohort of the Fortune® 500 that continues to lag in advancement and representation is women of color. This year, white women outnumber minorities by about 5-to-1, similar to what it was in MCCA’s previous survey.

Banks recalls how at a recent American Bar Association event, a female minority honoree made this remark:“Mi-nority women lawyers bear the burden of both their color and gender,” Banks says, “yet enjoy the privileges of neither.”

COMPANY GENERAL COUNSEL2014 RANK

2013 RANK INDUSTRY

Casey’s General Stores Julie Jackowski 382 389 Specialty Retailers: Other

CMS Energy Catherine M. Reynolds 383 394 Utilities: Gas and Electric

Foot Locker Sheilagh Clarke 384 400 Specialty Retailers: Apparel

PetSmart Paulette Dodson 386 376 Specialty Retailers: Other

Pacific Life Sharon Cheever 387 333 Insurance: Life, Health (stock)

Huntington Ingalls Industries Kellye Walker¹ 390 382 Aerospace and Defense

Peabody Energy A. Verona Dorch¹ 398 365 Mining, Crude-Oil Production

Fifth Third Bancorp Heather Russell Koenig¹ 416 361 Commercial Banks

NiSource Carrie Hightman 418 448 Utilities: Gas and Electric

KBR Eileen Akerson¹ 424 360 Engineering, Construction

Avery Dennison Susan Miller 427 398 Chemicals

Gannett Barbara Wall¹ 441 481 Publishing, Printing

A-Mark Precious Metals Carol Meltzer 444 Miscellaneous

Energy Future Holdings Stacey Doré 446 438 Energy

Ingredion Christine Castellano 462 412 Food Production

J.M. Smucker Jeannette Knudsen 467 435 Food Consumer Products

Clorox Laura Stein 469 451 Household and Personal Products

Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Nancy Laben 475 443 Information Technology Services

Wynn Resorts Kim Sinatra 477 452 Hotels, Casinos, Resorts

salesforce.com Amy Weaver 483 599 Computer Software

Host Hotels & Resorts Elizabeth Abdoo 485 477 Real Estate

Realogy Holdings Marilyn Wasser 488 476 Real Estate

Hanesbrands Joia Johnson 490 530 Apparel

Kindred Healthcare M. Suzanne Riedman 491 441 Health Care: Medical Facilities

Owens Corning Ava Harter¹ 498 475 Building Materials, Glass

McGraw Hill Financial Lucy Fato 500 484 Financial Data Services

¹New to list

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Fortune® 501–1000 Currently, 95 corporations in the Fortune® 501–1000 em-ploy women as top counsel. Two female co-GCs at NuStar Energy (741) push the head count to 96 women.

A year ago, the head count was 95 women. While this net increase might seem paltry, consider the fact that at least five women from the previous survey have since powered into the Fortune® 500, either by landing new jobs or because they helped their companies sprint up the standings. An example of the latter is GC Kathy Mahoney at grocer SpartanNash (359), which rocketed 452 spots in the revenue rankings.

Meanwhile, LINN Energy Legal Chief Candice J. Wells remains in the Fortune® 1000 but helped her employer

climb 358 places to its current No. 520. In fact, more than one-fourth of this year’s Fortune®

1000 class are knocking on the proverbial door of the elite Fortune® 500, based on their positions, spanning No. 502 (Melissa M. Buhrig of Northern Tier Energy) to No. 599 (Lauren Tashma of Graphic Packaging International). Put another way, more than 25 percent of women in the Fortune® 1000 pilot the legal departments at companies ranked No. 599 or better.

Although some female GCs have exited the roster because their employers have been acquired by other busi-nesses since MCCA’s previous survey—Exelis and CareFu-sion are examples—others have vaulted into the Fortune® 1000 with their companies.

Women Fortune® 501–1000COMPANY GENERAL COUNSEL

2014 RANK

2013 RANK INDUSTRY

Northern Tier Energy Melissa M. Buhrig 502 525 Petroleum Refining

Fiserv Lynn S. McCreary 512 508 Financial Data Services

ABM Sarah Hlavinka McConnell 515 512 Diversified Outsourcing Services

WEC Energy Group Susan Martin 519 545 Utilities: Gas and Electric

LINN Energy Candice J. Wells 520 878 Mining, Crude-Oil Production

Cincinnati Financial Lisa Love 525 543 Insurance: Property and Casualty (Stock)

Flowserve Carey O’Connor 528 501 Industrial Machinery

Quad/Graphics Jennifer Kent 531 513 Publishing, Printing

Burlington Stores Janet Dhillon¹ 532 551 Specialty Retailers: Apparel

Neiman Marcus Group Tracy Preston 533 527 Specialty Retailers: Apparel

Bemis Sheri Edison 534 492 Packaging, Containers

Zoetis Heidi Chen 538 Pharmaceuticals

Robert Half International Evelyn Crane-Oliver¹ 552 577 Temporary Help

Colfax A. Lynne Puckett 559 579 Industrial Machinery

Lam Research Sarah O`Dowd 563 647 Semiconductors and Other Electronic Components

Northern Trust Susan C. Levy 571 574 Commercial Banks

Intuit Laura Fennell 572 544 Computer Software

Polaris Industries Stacy Bogart 574 621 Transportation Equipment

Energizer Holdings Kelly Boss¹ 579 549 Household Products

Avaya Amy Fliegelman Olli 581 520 Network and Other Communications Equipment

Hyatt Hotels Rena Hozore Reiss 583 584 Hotels, Casinos, Resorts

Protective Life Deborah Long 586 609 Insurance: Life, Health (stock)

Hasbro Barbara Finigan 595 597 Toys, Sporting Goods

Tiffany & Co. Leigh Harlan 597 604 Specialty Retailers: Other

Graphic Packaging International Lauren Tashma 599 547 Packaging, Containers

FMC Andrea Utecht 613 581 Chemicals

Xylem Claudia Toussaint 626 617 Industrial Machinery

Genesis Energy Kristen O. Jesulaitis 633 517 Pipelines

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They include Heidi Chen of pharmaceuticals manufac-turer Zoetis (538), Catherine B. Callaway of energy provider Dynegy (865) and Denise Faltischek of Hain Celestial Group (967), a natural and organic foods and personal products distributor. These women are anything but rookies, boasting a combined 13 years as general counsel at these particular corporations. Callaway also spent four years as legal chief at another energy producer before joining Dynegy.

Greetings to Newcomers and Familiar Faces, Farewell to FriendsSome of the female legal chiefs in this year’s list have ap-peared previously with different companies.

Formerly of NCR, Jennifer Daniels has joined Col-

gate-Palmolive (179). Lisa Iglesias kept insurance in hand during the course of moving from WellCare Health Plans to Unum Group (279), while Kellye Walker departed Ameri-can Water Works for Huntington Ingalls Industries (390).

One-time Harsco GC A. Verona Dorch now drills into legal matters for Peabody Energy (398). Jodi Caro left Inte-grys Energy for ULTA Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance (709), and Janet Dhillon’s expertise in retail helped her jump from J.C. Penney to Burlington Stores (532).

Burlington wasn’t the only clothier to tap a woman as its top lawyer: Chico’s FAS (819) promoted Susan Faw, and J.Crew Group (841) hired Maria Di Lorenzo.

Across U.S. industries as wide-ranging as food services to utilities, other women who have been hired as or promot-

COMPANY GENERAL COUNSEL2014 RANK

2013 RANK INDUSTRY

PolyOne Lisa Kunkle 638 618 Chemicals

Brookdale Senior Living Geri Krupp-Gordon 639 750 Health Care: Medical Facilities

Meritor Sandra Quick 641 634 Motor Vehicles and Parts

Unified Grocers Mary M. Kasper¹ 643 635 Wholesalers: Food and Grocery

New Jersey Resources Mariellen Dugan 649 699 Energy

Helmerich & Payne Cara Hair¹ 655 671 Oil and Gas Equipment, Services

Graham Holdings Nicole Maddrey¹ 670 614 Education

Cooper Standard Aleksandra Miziolek 707 714 Motor Vehicles and Parts

ULTA Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Jodi Caro¹ 709 793 Specialty Retailers: Other

Green Plains Michelle Mapes 712 721 Energy

EP Energy Marguerite Woung-Chapman 721 990 Mining, Crude-Oil Production

SunGard Financial Systems Victoria Silbey 724 585 Financial Data Services

TD Ameritrade Holding Ellen Koplow 727 772 Securities

CME Group Kathleen Cronin 732 738 Securities

International Flavors & Fragrances Anne Chwat 737 734 Chemicals

NuStar Energy Amy Perry, Karen Thompson 741 661 Pipelines

SunPower Lisa Bodensteiner 748 835 Energy

Tempur Sealy International Lou Jones 758 850 Home Equipment, Furnishings

Steelcase Lizbeth O’Shaughnessy 759 753 Home Equipment, Furnishings

Sabre Rachel Gonzalez 763 712 Internet Services and Retailing

Martin Marietta Materials Roselyn Bar 764 923 Building Materials, Glass

Alere Ellen Chiniara 766 725 Medical Products and Equipment

DENTSPLY International Deborah Rasin 773 735 Medical Products and Equipment

Brinker International Scarlett May¹ 777 761 Food Services

Analog Devices Margaret Seif 780 799 Semiconductors and Other Electronic Components

Exide Technologies Barbara Hatcher 784 732 Motor Vehicles and Parts

WABCO Holdings Lisa J. Brown¹ 785 778 Motor Vehicles and Parts

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ed to legal chiefs include Janet Link at J.C. Penney (250), Joanne Raphael at PPL (257), Trish Walsh at Voya Financial (268), Dianne Ralston at FMC Technologies (357), Sarah C. Miller at The Williams Companies (370), Heather Russell Koenig at Fifth Third Bancorp (416), Evelyn Crane-Oliver at Robert Half International (552), Kelly Boss at Ener-gizer Holdings (579), Mary M. Kasper at Unified Grocers (643), Cara Hair at Helmerich & Payne (655), Scarlett May at Brinker International (777), Lisa J. Brown at WABCO Holdings (785) and Carol Creel at Metaldyne Performance Group (812).

At Diversity & the Bar’s press time, Cathleen Colvin was interim GC at Pall (796).

L Brands (262) hired Shelley Milano. As Starbucks’ general counsel in the late 1990s, Milano mentored many in-house women, such as Lucy Helm, the coffee giant’s current GC.

This year, Owens Corning (498) brought Ava Harter un-der its roof as chief counsel, while Lily Yan Hughes moved to Public Storage (952). Meanwhile, officials at Eastman Kodak (966) agreed that Sharon Underberg fit their image of who a new GC ought to be.

After Sarah Powell left Advance Auto Parts (294), Tam-my Finley’s promotion steered her into this fleet of female leaders.

At Health Net (216), Kathleen Alyce Waters replaced the retiring Angelee Bouchard, while Nicole Maddrey replaced the retiring Veronica Dillon at Graham Holdings (670).

Retirements elsewhere include Robin Walker-Lee from TRW Automotive, Claudia Cline from Convergys and Ellen Oran Kaden from Campbell Soup. Kaden became the food titan’s chief legal officer in 1998.

After 30 years at Prudential Financial, including the past decade as general counsel, Susan Blount is transitioning out

COMPANY GENERAL COUNSEL2014 RANK

2013 RANK INDUSTRY

Pall Cathleen Colvin¹ 796 796 Industrial Machinery

WGL Holdings Leslie T. Thornton 801 849 Energy

StanCorp Financial Group Holley Franklin 804 755 Insurance: Life, Health (stock)

Teradata Laura Nyquist 809 783 Computer Software

Metaldyne Performance Group Carol Creel¹ 812 Motor Vehicles and Parts

Chico’s FAS Susan Faw¹ 819 815 Specialty Retailers: Apparel

Scripps Networks Interactive Cynthia Gibson 820 828 Entertainment

ITT Mary Beth Gustafsson 823 839 Industrial Machinery

Albemarle Karen Narwold 837 804 Chemicals

J.Crew Group Maria Di Lorenzo¹ 841 860 Specialty Retailers: Apparel

Great Plains Energy Heather Humphrey 846 855 Utilities: Gas and Electric

Kirby Amy Husted 847 905 Miscellaneous

AOL Julie Jacobs 858 882 Internet Services and Retailing

Paychex Stephanie Schaeffer 860 879 Diversified Outsourcing Services

Tops Holding II Lynne Burgess 864 844 Food and Drug Stores

Dynegy Catherine B. Callaway 865 Energy

Tetra Tech Janis Salin 870 805 Engineering, Construction

Donaldson Amy Becker 873 858 Industrial Machinery

Medical Mutual of Ohio Patricia Decensi 879 784 Insurance: Life, Health (Mutual)

Equinix Brandi Galvin Morandi 884 930 Telecommunications

Women Fortune® 501–1000 (continued)

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COMPANY GENERAL COUNSEL2014 RANK

2013 RANK INDUSTRY

Post Holdings Deidre Gray 892 Food Consumer Products

Teledyne Technologies Melanie Cibik 898 875 Scientific, Photographic and Control Equipment

TransDigm Group Halle F. Terrion 904 997 Aerospace and Defense

KAR Auction Services Becca Polak 905 918 Wholesalers: Diversified

hhgregg Heather Cameron Greenawald 914 845 Specialty Retailers: Other

Edwards Lifesciences Aimee Weisner 918 959 Medical Products and Equipment

Pool Jennifer Neil 937 953 Wholesalers: Diversified

Brocade Communications Systems Nell O’Donnell 947 911 Network and Other Communications Equipment

Public Storage Lily Yan Hughes¹ 952 974 Miscellaneous

Chemtura Billie Flaherty 954 775 Chemicals

Tower International Nanette Dudek 956 944 Motor Vehicles and Parts

Bio-Rad Laboratories Shawn Soderberg 959 939 Medical Products and Equipment

Express Lacey J. Bundy 965 913 Specialty Retailers: Apparel

Eastman Kodak Sharon Underberg¹ 966 704 Scientific, Photographic and Control Equipment

Hain Celestial Group Denise Faltischek 967 Food Consumer Products

Esterline Technologies Marcia J. Mason 972 977 Aerospace and Defense

SemGroup Candice Cheeseman 975 Pipelines

Southwest Gas Karen Haller 976 983 Utilities: Gas and Electric

National Fuel Gas Paula M. Ciprich 978 Utilities: Gas and Electric

Rexnord Patricia Whaley 986 968 Industrial Machinery1New to list

of the post toward January retirement. Some departures didn’t require any shuffling among

employers. Lisa Zell shifted from the legal department of CHS to become the company’s executive vice president of business solutions. At Men’s Wearhouse, Carole Souvenir left the law department but remains executive vice presi-dent of employee relations.

Other departures include R. Rene Carson from INTL FCStone, Heidi Allen from TeamHealth, Michelle Friel from YRC Worldwide and Teresa Sebastian from Darden Restaurants. Formerly of Enterprise Products Partners, Stephanie Hildebrandt is now in private practice.

Prospects for the FutureThe 216 women who are top lawyers at the nation’s 1,000 highest-revenue companies mark an increase of eight from MCCA’s previous survey. It’s the second straight year that

this figure has topped 200.While the proportion of women in the Fortune® 500

continues to expand, the same holds true for the Fortune® 501–1000 (Fortune® 1000).

The 96 women in this latter group are 12 more than they were two years ago and 18 more than three years ago. From 2008 to 2012, the annual head count seesawed from the 70s to the 80s and back before its recent, steady climb toward triple digits.

Suffice to say that improving gender parity relies as much, if not more, on continued hiring, promotion and retention of women in this group, rather than just within the Fortune® 500.

As the saying goes, it takes a village. Or in this case, two villages.

A freelance writer and editor, LYDIA LUM (lydialum999@yahoo.com) is a former reporter for the Houston Chronicle and Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

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If you had asked Brian Cabrera 25 years ago whether he would one day go in-house, the answer would have been an emphatic “no.” “When I was in law school at the University of Southern California, I was

interested in litigation and trial work. I’m not sure I could tell you what a general counsel did.”

But that would soon change. Cabrera was a young associate at a big firm in San Francisco working on trial matters when his brother suggested he apply for the le-gal role at a tech company in Silicon Valley. “On a whim, I interviewed,” he says. “And for me, the position turned out to be the perfect triumvirate of law, technology and business. I got into that job and never looked back.”

Today as GC at NVIDIA, a $13 billion tech company based in Santa Clara, Calif., Cabrera is responsible for the company’s legal and security organizations—largely all responsibilities he has previously dealt with heading legal departments at other tech companies. “But with 10,000 new regulations passed annually, constantly evolving technology and entering new markets with new business models, it’s never stagnant,” he says, “which is good, because I get bored easily.”

NVIDIA made its name designing graphic processing units, as well as systemon-a-chip units for the mobile computing market. “As the field becomes increasingly complex, trying to stay up to speed with new technology is tough,” concedes Cabrera, “but being a top-notch de-partment like ours means understanding new business models and products. ‘Speed of Light’ is a buzz word at NVIDIA. It’s a challenge, but it’s the right idea. We need to keep up with the business, if possible even stay ahead of the business.”

While Cabrera has had opportunities to go out of tech, he has always refused. “Tech is in my blood,” says the self-described gadget geek. “My dad was an entre-

preneur/engineer mostly in the microwave telecommu-nications area. He built a prototype radar gun that my brother and I played with. We’d measure how fast we’d throw baseballs long before the major leagues were doing it.”

Other lessons learned at home attuned Cabrera to diversity. “My father was Colombian. I saw things he went through because of his accent and brownish skin tone. I began promoting diversity back in law school more than 25 years ago.”

Throughout his career, he has felt a real need and responsibility to help. “Law has a way to go. There aren’t enough women partners in the best firms. And while there are great women GCs, men still need to help more in the advancement process. It’s something I speak on fairly regularly and get involved with programs address-ing the challenge.”

Cabrera notes, “Early in my career, I looked to learn from attorneys—both at firms and inside counsel—incorporating their best qualities into my repertoire. Today, I focus less on the attorneys. I think of myself more as an executive working to move the business to the next level, and I look to other executives for insight and motivation.”

Brian Eduardo CabreraSenior Vice President and General Counsel NVIDIA

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Kelly McNamara Corley’s road to general counsel was not the traditional career path. Prior to be-ing named general counsel at Discover in 1999, Corley worked in government relations roles for

17 years at Discover and its former parent companies, Sears, Dean Witter and Morgan Stanley.

“My first love was politics and government,” says Corley. “After graduating from the University of Southern California, I went east for an unpaid summer internship in Sears’ government affairs office in Wash-ington, D.C. My plan was to return to California, but the internship turned into an offer, and I stayed. I really liked the work.”

Determined to face new challenges and advance her career, Corley followed the encouragement of her then-boss Chris Edwards (now a partner at Chi-cago-based law firm Winston & Strawn) to go to law school. “Chris was relentless,” Corley says. “To test the legal waters, I first enrolled in paralegal school, where I learned great writing and research skills. Now as the head of a legal department, understanding what para-legals do and what they’re capable of contributing has made me a better manager.”

Corley went on to earn her JD at George Mason University. “Of course in retrospect I’m very grateful for Chris’ mentoring. I would have missed out on a lot of opportunities had I not followed her advice.”

“Rarely do you see someone start as an intern and become general counsel of the company,” adds Corley. “But I was at Sears when they launched the Discover card in 1985, and I’ve grown up with Discover, repre-senting them in government affairs over the years, and then coming to the Riverwoods, Ill., headquarters to serve as GC.”

Throughout her career, Corley was always part of Discover’s law department and its government relations team and knew the business side very well, but step-ping into the GC position was a real change for her. At Discover, Corley’s responsibilities include managing the legal advisory, compliance, litigation and government relations matters of Discover, which includes its direct banking and payment services businesses. “It took some getting used to, but I really enjoy the role of GC.”

Corley credits her father, a ball bearing salesman who’s in his late 70s and still working, with instilling a strong work ethic in her and her siblings. “He’d say, ‘Everyone is born with a certain amount of intelligence. But work ethic is the differentiator, and that’s something you can control.’”

She also draws inspiration from fictional lawyer At-ticus Finch, the admirable hero of Harper Lee’s novel “To Kill A Mockingbird.” “To me, Atticus is an iconic embodi-ment of racial heroism and stands for high integrity. It’s a book I can read again and again.”

Corley advises lawyers to “never be afraid to take some risk, even well into your career or when you’re on a particular path. I didn’t think mine was a path to the GC office, but I was open to new challenges.”

Kelly McNamara CorleyExecutive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary Discover Financial Services

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Both of Ivan Fong’s parents are scientists, and all of their friends when he was growing up were scientists. So, early on, “my vision was relatively narrow in terms of what I wanted to do as a

career,” he says. Yet while at MIT earning an SB in chemical engi-

neering and an SM in chemical engineering practice, Fong was advised to take a wide variety of classes from the school’s best professors. “I took a class on the Supreme Court taught by a stellar professor, and he changed my life because he was the one who first suggested that I consider going to law school.”

Although Fong was then on track to get a Ph.D., he decided to follow that professor’s advice. “My thought was that I’ll apply, and if I’m accepted, then it will be a sign that it was meant to be.” He was accepted and went on to receive his JD from Stanford Law School, where he was elected president of the Stanford Law Review.

“My philosophy is that a GC performs a dual role that mirrors the dual role of the legal department,” he explains. “We want to be advisors on significant business matters and be trusted counselors. At the same time, we want to make sure we help protect the company and its reputation. Not just formal compliance with laws and regulations but also help ensure a strong culture of ethics and integrity.”

In 2012, Fong joined 3M Company (a Minneso-ta-based multinational corporation best known for inventing Scotch brand tape and Post-it Notes) after serving as GC of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, where he was responsible for leading over 1,700 lawyers. “I liked the core mission [of DHS] and the challenge of working on complex policy issues,

such as cyber security and privacy. But mostly, I liked leading a legal department that had only recently been brought together from disparate other fed-eral agencies. It was an opportunity to exercise my leadership skills with a large legal team—skills that are applicable where I am now.”

Fong’s very first foray into in-house followed his tenure at the Department of Justice. Fong thought he would go back to the law firm where he had been a partner, but fate intervened. “Unexpectedly, I received a call from the GC at General Electric. He persuaded me that going in-house would be more fun. In-house, I’d be closer to my clients. You’re part of a business team and involved in the strategy and other aspects of the business.”

As GC of 3M, he devotes a lot of time to talent and leadership development. “It’s very important to leverage the team, and it’s done by spending time and energy building the best possible team.

“My job is inherently interesting. Whether it’s figuring out how to build a strategy for winning in the marketplace or how to build a team that reflects the company’s core values, I like it all,” says Fong. “And because 3M is fundamentally a science and technolo-gy-based company that is global in its reach, it’s been a perfect fit for me.”

Ivan K. Fong 3M Company Senior Vice President, Legal Affairs and General Counsel

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Lily Yan Hughes’ story is powerful. The first in her family to attend college (or graduate high school for that matter), Hughes vividly remembers a childhood spent in Hong Kong’s Kowloon City.

“Five of us lived in one room behind a small shop where my father sold and repaired shoes. As a child, I never knew you could get warm water from a tap. And that was my life. But even then I knew education was the way to something better, and my parents knew it, too.”

Today, Hughes is senior vice president, chief legal officer and corporate secretary of Public Storage, the international self storage company headquartered in Glendale, Calif. In her position, she brings vast expe-rience in leadership, governance, securities, finance, M&A, international practice and a strategic view of law and business. Prior to joining Public Storage in January 2015, Hughes was associate general counsel for corpo-rate, M&A and finance and was assistant corporate sec-retary at Ingram Micro, a publicly traded Fortune® 100 electronics and IT wholesale distributor. Before Ingram, she was a partner at Manatt Phelps & Phillips.

Her decision to go in-house was well considered: “You get a broader view of what’s important to the company. Outside you are brought in for a strike force for specific day and matter. If you’re successful inside the company, you become a part of the voice, an influential voice in making decisions, strategizing and implementing. I enjoy being both a business execu-tive and a general counsel. It’s a joy for me. What’s most challenging is doing one’s very best with limited resources. And I think that’s true for GCs and in-house teams across all industries.”

Now back to Hughes’ story. When she was 11, her family came to the U.S. and settled in Los Angeles. Things did not get easier quickly. Her parents worked long hours at menial jobs. She strived to learn English and do well in school while navigating the immigration process and health care services and translating for her parents. Hughes credits kind and encouraging teach-ers—and hard work—as integral to her success.

While an undergrad at University of California, Berkeley, she considered business school and a career in investment banking but instead went on to graduate from UC Berkeley’s law school. “Once there, I knew that I wanted to succeed as a business lawyer. I enjoyed law school. It’s where I started learning to think outside the box and always ask the ‘what if’s.”

“It’s been a long journey from Kowloon City to where I am today at Public Storage. But I don’t forget where I came from, and I know that it was encouraging and helpful mentors who made this kind of success possible for me,” says Hughes. “At Public Storage, my legal and internal audit services team (over 20 people total) are comprised primarily of women and individuals with diverse heritage or both—all the most qualified for their respective roles. I take great pride in being a part of a company that supports this kind of diversity as part of our everyday culture.”

Lily Yan Hughes Senior Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary Public Storage

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“Knowing both the legal and business side of your corporation means everything,” says Brandi Galvin Morandi, chief legal officer, general counsel and secretary for Equinix

Inc., since 2003. “In-house is a constant learning curve: In the past two years, international expansion, new regulatory arenas (we recently converted to a REIT), new tax requirements, cyber security and changing infra-structure have all popped up on the radar.”

Headquartered in Redwood City, Calif., Equinix is a networking company that provides data center offerings primarily consisting of colocation, interconnection solu-tions and managed IT infrastructure services.

“My background was corporate securities and corporate governance. For a company like Equinix that is capital intensive and acquisitive, my background was relevant. Expertise is great, but you have to be ready to transition to a broader mindset. What got you there is quickly not going to be what gets you to the next level.”

Prior to Equinix, Morandi practiced in the corporate securities group at the law firm of Gunderson Dettmer Stough Villeneuve Franklin & Hachigian LLP (Gunderson Dettmer) in Menlo Park, Calif.

“Ultimately, I moved in-house because I longed to be part of a team. While still at the firm, I was loaned to Equinix for a big transaction. As an outside service provider you really see how a lot of companies are run. Equinix was a great group with a great culture, high integrity, and they have fun along the way. They made me feel like a valued team player.”

As an undergrad at the University of Southern Cal-ifornia, Morandi studied journalism and public relations (the perfect training ground for law, she says). Her plan

to become a lawyer evolved while in college. While earning a JD from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law, Morandi was unsure what practice area she wanted to pursue, but she knew who she want-ed her clients to be.

“I grew up in the Bay Area and had relatives and friends who’d worked in some of the startup companies in Silicon Valley. These were the kind of people and companies I wanted to center my career around. And though I have never been a technologist, I love learning new stuff–a trait that’s definitely served me well. It’s a job requirement for a general counsel.”

Mentoring is important to Morandi, particularly when it involves women coming up as leaders in the tech world. As co-founder of the Equinix Women Lead-ers Network, she does a lot of programming. “It’s one of the favorite parts of my job: helping women accom-plish things they didn’t even know they were ready for, nudging them along to take that next step. Giving them visibility and promoting their skills and assets is im-portant. It creates a momentum about them. That was done for me by my sponsor, Renee Lanam, who was a partner at my firm when I was starting out and held my current position before me. It’s my obligation to pay that forward.”

Brandi Galvin MorandiChief Legal Officer, General Counsel and SecretaryEquinix Inc.

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When Tony West ended his successful tenure as associate attorney general at the U.S. Department of Justice a year ago to go in-house as executive vice

president of government affairs and general counsel at PepsiCo, he was entering a different universe. Or so it seemed. “The transition has been very smooth,” he says. “More things feel familiar than different. I suppose that shouldn’t be surprising—I left one mission-driven organization with strong values and joined another. And I feel very much at home here.”

At PepsiCo, West uses many of the skills he em-ployed as the Department of Justice’s third-ranking offi-cial. “In managing a large institution with many lawyers, you need to figure out who knows what, where the best talent, experience and knowledge is within the organi-zation. These are worlds where decisions must be made quickly, but you want buy-in from all levels. That process of bringing people together, of hearing all points of view and getting the best information to the CEO is critical so that she can make the best decision she can.”

While at the Justice Department, West reported directly and frequently to his boss and friend, former Attorney General Eric Holder. Currently, he enjoys a similarly close relationship as trusted advisor to PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi.

Headquartered in Purchase, N.Y., PepsiCo is a global food and beverage leader with net revenues of more than $66 billion and a product portfolio that includes 22 brands that generate more than $1 billion each in annu-al retail sales. “At Justice,” says West, “we did interesting and important things in protecting the American people and safeguarding their civil rights, and here, my plate is full with a diverse array of important issues. And they

are not just legal matters. As head of our global public policy and government affairs organization, my work includes issues at the intersection of policy, government and business, here in the U.S. and around the world.”

Education was a religion in his family, West says. “My father was raised in the Jim Crow South by his grandparents, who were sharecroppers. Dad’s college education was his passport to places and opportunities he otherwise would never have known.” West’s parents met at Talladega College in Alabama. As a young married couple, they moved to Northern California in search of a more egalitarian atmosphere in which to raise their chil-dren. “It was always understood that my two sisters and I would go to college and work hard,” says West.

Soon after graduating from Stanford Law School, where he was president of Law Review, West was hired as special assistant to Janet Reno, attorney general during the Clinton administration. Reno was West’s foremost mentor. At her suggestion he served as federal prosecutor in his hometown, San Jose, Calif.

“On my last day working with her, she summoned me to her private office to impart some words of wis-dom. She pointed to an engraving that read, ‘the United States win its case when justice is done,’ and then said, ‘As a federal prosecutor, you’ll win many cases, but your job is to do justice in every matter that you handle.’ Those words have inspired my career.”

Tony West Executive Vice President, Government Affairs, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary PepsiCo

MCCA.COM NOV.DEC.2015 D I V E R S I T Y & T H E B A R 31

By Richard Q. Russeth

This is not an article about how to streamline your department, how the wizardry of case management technology will save you millions or flat rate billing from your outside counsel will avoid overcharging. Nor is it about how to hire the best lawyers (though it might just help you to retain those lawyers). All of those things are nice and useful, of course, but none of it has much to do with having a successful small legal department. I define “successful” as a department that people are excited to work for and senior leadership in your company perceives as responsive and adding value to the organization.

The emotional intelligence, or EQ, of the department is a big factor in its success or failure. High emotional intelligence, high results; low emotional intelligence, well, you know. Emotional intelligence is defined in a variety of ways, so I won’t belabor it here, but suffice to say this definition (from www.selfhelp.com) works for our purposes: “Emotional intelligence is the ability to identify, use, understand and manage emotions in positive ways to relieve stress, communicate effectively, empathize with others, overcome challenges and defuse conflict.”

This EQ assertion of mine is anecdotal but based on my role as general counsel in various capacities over the past 25 odd years for a handful of companies ranging in size from $500 million to

$4 billion. Those departments where I feel I successfully fostered a high EQ performed far better than those where I was less than successful.

I am oversimplifying, of course, but the following 10 little insights for small departments have nothing to do with finance, matter management or what your client’s business is but every-thing to do with using EQ to create a more motivated team and an enhanced reputation within your company. These insights often take time to take hold and make a difference, so patience is the word. In no particular order (because your department may need to emphasize these points to different degrees, and all 10 may not apply to you) here are my insights.

Creating a Successful Small Legal Department 10 Insights

32 D I V E R S I T Y & T H E B A R NOV.DEC.2015 MCCA.COM

Family Trumps Everything. Really.A small legal department is always stretched for resources, and the scarcest of those resources is time. Your people need to know that they

always have time for their families and that everyone will pitch in to make it happen. If you ensure they have the time they need for that fundamental thing, they will always have time for your business. It’s a more than fair trade. In all my years as a GC, “family trumps everything” has never resulted in less time or eff ort being spent on legal work. When you are compassionate to your employees in family matters, they tend to overcompensate in return. And it goes both ways. There was a time that my son was rushed to an emergency room a few thousand miles away from me. My wife brought me a suitcase, and I left an hour later. I stayed with him at the hospital for a week. My team covered the bases, and I never had to give the offi ce a thought. We didn’t miss a beat. Family trumps everything.

Feeling Valued and Expressing Gratitude. Want to get your department on the EQ track quickly? “Thank you,” “please” and “good job”

are the place to start, and you can never say them too often. I’m not saying reward folks just for showing up, but don’t be stingy either. Better to say it too much than too little. Feeling valued is a key item on everyone’s list. My very fi rst boss told me, “if you don’t hear from me, you’re doing great.” This is not the approach that will garner you a motivated team. Make them feel valued. Express your gratitude for their successes and eff ort. It will make you job eff ortless.

We Don’t Bill Hours; We Bill Results. This is why the family-trumps-everything rule works. I don’t pay my people to sit at their desk,

prove to me how hard they are working or make unnecessary sacrifi ces of their private life. I pay them to deliver results. Where they work, how they work, how much they work, doesn’t matter as much as the results they return and the satisfaction of the cli-ent. Pay your team well, but pay them for results, not desk time.

Small Departments Need to Be Expert Issue Spotters. Our motto? “We are all generalists; we are all specialists.” I can’t aff ord “real” specialists of

course, but I can aff ord specialists in issue spotting. If we spot it. Then fi nding the legal expertise to handle it is the easy part. I may not be able to explain the problem with a particular legal issue or how to solve it, but for sure we are going to spot it. We will spot it because last year everyone on my staff , including me, took a CLE course or two on matters not much relevant to my current company: everything from debt refi nancing to “MBA for Lawyers” to white collar crime—and then some. Despite not being directly relevant, those courses make us better issue spotters, and that will pay for those courses many times over.

Outside Counsel Is In-house Counsel. Our outside counsel is just as much a part of the in-house team as we are. There’s just four of us

for a company with more than $3 billion in sales. We need a little help from our friends. We don’t shop around much. We have a set group of lawyers (note: lawyers, not fi rms) that we work with, and we don’t change it up. Especially not for mon-ey. The relationship is the thing–and that good relationship is

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MCCA.COM NOV.DEC.2015 D I V E R S I T Y & T H E B A R 33

usually worth more than any savings we might reap from changing counsel. Our outside counsel feel like and act like in-house counsel. They are part of the team, and they know it. Our department is not one that tries to do it all. Under-lawyering can be just as expensive as over-law-yering, and we are not going to lose a case or mishandle a matter on some quixotic quest to prove we can do it all. We can’t. Incidentally, item 2 applies every bit as much to

outside counsel.

Everyone Is Everyone’s Client. I don’t have time for fi efdoms, hierarchi-

cal charts or assigned clients. I don’t have enough people either. Everyone takes care of anyone. Sure, we may work with certain groups more than others, but if we are unavailable, someone steps up. No “call back tomorrow” responses allowed. This also contributes to making “fami-

ly trumps everything” achievable.

No “Yes, But…”

A small company can view its small legal department as trading dollars. Many opt

for the outside counsel approach, i.e., “I’ll call them when I need them and look–no overhead!” In-house counsel earns its keep through the added value of knowing the business, the customers and the crafting of business-cen-tric legal strategies. Nothing is easier than saying “no,” but there is no client benefi t there, and if that’s what your client wanted, he’d be better off without you and your department and on the “no overhead” model. Give real advice with real returns. You are paid to assess and manage risk, not avoid it. Your job is to make sure your client understands the risk. It’s up to him to decide if it’s worth taking. Unless of course the risk is an “Orange Is the New Black” scenario, in which case “hell no” is good,

solid advice.

Know What’s Important.

Are you really going to fi ght over that choice of law clause? In 35 years of

practicing law I have never once, ever, seen it matter. Perhaps a big fi rm or a big company law department has time to argue over commas, boilerplate or choice of law,

but if you are in a small department, you don’t. And if you try, you will never be able to handle your work load to benefi t your client, and your client’s most important things will not get tended to. Figure out the most im-portant things and do those fi rst. If you have extra time, feel free to argue about choice of law with whomever; just don’t call me.

Get Your Own Damn Coff ee.

Guess what, with four people, no one has time for folks on a high horse. If you need coff ee, go get it. And, by the way, get the $100 million M&A done at the

same time. And the copy machine is right over there. And the supply closet right next to it. But if you are going to make folks get their own coff ee, at least splurge on some good stuff .

Keep It Challenging.

In a small department it is extremely diffi cult to provide a clear or meaningful career track. There is no place to move up or laterally except in rare occasions

when someone retires (like the GC) or quits (due to lack of career track). But there actually is a career track that will keep people on board for a longer time: the Chal-lenge Track. Give people challenging assignments; don’t keep all the plum work for yourself Ms. GC. Be willing to do routine legal work so as to give your staff the chance to perform more meaningful work, gain exposure and kudos from senior management and become better lawyers.

Emotional intelligence has a role to play in each of these insights. A small department is like a kid’s sand-box: There really isn’t room for bullies, bad behavior or jackasses. Your small department is not a family, but it needs to be collegial, kind and generous in spirit among everyone. If you’ve never read “Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ” by Daniel Goleman, go buy a copy; your staff will thank you—and maybe even hug you if your EQ is high enough. ■

RICHARD Q. RUSSETH (rrusseth@leprinofoods.com) is the vice president and general counsel of Leprino Foods Company in Denver, Colo. In his spare time, he is a photographer, blogger and poet. Follow him on Instagram: @rqrusseth and Twitter: @richard_russeth.

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A small department is like a kid’s sandbox: There really isn’t room for bullies, bad behavior or jackasses.

34 D I V E R S I T Y & T H E B A R NOV.DEC.2015 MCCA.COM

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By Lekan Oguntoyinbo

How the OnRamp Fellowship Connects Experienced Female Lawyers with Law Firms

36 D I V E R S I T Y & T H E B A R NOV.DEC.2015 MCCA.COM

FTER GRADUATING from the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law in 1986, Dora de la Rosa went to work for a small law firm where she handled litigation. Then within a few

years, life happened. She got married. Her daughter was born in 1989. Her son followed in 1993.

Although life in a small or mid-sized fi rm was not as intense or fast-paced as a giant fi rm, but she notes that the law fi rm life can be very diffi cult for a lawyer with a young family. And her situa-tion was complicated by the fact that both children have hearing impairments.

“What I found was that it was extremely time consuming to make sure all their needs are met,” says de la Rosa. “As they were getting a little older and dealing with regular child care issues, it just became overwhelming. I didn’t want to not see my children. I believed if I was there to help them navigate the challenges that would be the best for them.”

During this same period she became more involved with the PTA.“I wanted to become part of the issues that aff ected them,”

she says. As she pondered options for successfully balancing family

life and career, the superintendent of her local school district approached her with the idea of running the district’s bond cam-paign. “I said let me take three months off and see how it goes,” she recalls.

She enjoyed running the campaign. And the success of the campaign planted an idea in her head. She got the bug to do more volunteering. After the election she quit her job.

She became a full-time stay-at-home mom, even though the volume of her volunteer commitments guaranteed she was never really at home. She ran another successful bond campaign and then ran for school board. She served for eight years on the school board, four of them as president.

“It was like having a full-time job,” she says. “I was going to Sacramento to talk to legislators and involved with local issues.”

Despite her hectic schedule as a board member and volunteer, the fl exibility gave her plenty of time to work closely with her children.

“The fact that I was at home for them was well worth it,” she says. “My daughter went to Harvard and graduated. She’s getting a doctorate at Wisconsin in cancer biology. And my son is getting ready to graduate from Notre Dame.”

“By the time I fi nished my second term, my son had just graduated high school and was about to go to college,” she says. “My daughter had gone off to college. I always knew I wanted to try to come back.”

But getting back into the legal profession after a 14-year absence presented a formidable obstacle. She checked out the want ads and perused the experience requirements to gauge what she was up against and found herself somewhat wanting professionally. So she became a dispute resolution volunteer at the local courthouse—and pondered her options.

Then her husband, who is also a lawyer, stumbled on to an an-nouncement about a new program designed for women just like de la Rosa—experienced lawyers who had been out of the game for years because they wanted to raise a family and wanted to get back in. Known as the OnRamp Fellowship program, it was a perfect fi t. De la Rosa applied and was hired as one of the initial fellows at Sidley Austin, one of the nation’s 10 largest law fi rms.

OnRamp

MCCA.COM NOV.DEC.2015 D I V E R S I T Y & T H E B A R 37

Connecting Law Firms and More Experienced Female LawyersThe OnRamp Fellowship was conceived more than a year ago by Caren Ulrich Stacy, who has worked in large law fi rms in administrative roles for more than 20 years, as a means for bringing law fi rms and qualifi ed veteran lawyers together.

“The goal is to bring back as many women into the legal profession as possible. I was bothered by the defi -cit of women inside the fi rms,” says Stacy, who is not a lawyer. “They weren’t paying attention to replenishing pipeline. I was also looking at how to bring women back into the profession and get them into leadership roles. So many women who try to come back say they can’t get a foot in the door. They say they don’t know where they fi t. I was hearing from law fi rms who say if someone has practiced for fi ve years and been out for 10 where do they fi t?”

After developing the idea, she pitched it to four large law fi rms around the country, and all of them said yes within a few weeks. The responses surprised even Stacy.

“When I fi rst thought of the idea and I called what I consider my brain trust—managing partners, con-sultants, futurists—many said good idea but best of luck trying to get them to do something innovative,” she says. “People say law fi rms are not innovative. My feeling is they are innovative, but they need good ideas. If you get good ideas, they are willing to be innovative. This proves innovation is possible.”

Here’s how the program works:Applicants are subjected to a vigorous assessment,

including aptitude tests, writing skills, a cultural anal-ysis, a three-hour per person screener and a structural behavioral interview by Stacy and her team on behalf of client law fi rms. Stacy also does a developmental refer-ence check to help determine what the fi rms can do to help these lawyers develop professionally and excel.

The fellowship is for one year, and the salary is fi xed at a fl at $125,000 a year plus benefi ts. The hiring fi rm pays the fellow’s salary. The appointment is for a year, but the fi rm has the option of retaining the attorney as a full-time associate and putting her on the partner track.

To date, more than 300 lawyers have applied for the program and 19 have been accepted. The nine inaugu-ral fellows are in the process of ending their fellow-ships. Nineteen fi rms are involved in the fellowship, so far, a number that Stacy expects to continue to grow.

“This is an opportunity to tap into a group of high-performing lawyers,” says Stacy. “These women are so loyal to the fi rms that let them in. Some spend two years sending out resumes and get no interviews.”

Tapping into a Rich Source of TalentAdds Valerie Fitch, senior director of talent acquisi-tion at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman: “This is a wonderful pipeline to bring in women we might not otherwise know about. These are not your typical applicants we would get from a headhunter. The hope is that in many cases this will morph into a full-time position.”

Mike Imbroscio, a partner at Covington & Burling and co-chair of the Products Liability Practice, says fi rms like Covington are deprived of a rich source of talent when experienced female attorneys leave the fi rm to tend to their families and are unable to return.

“Big fi rms for many years have had a fairly rigid model of starting young lawyers as associates and then considered them for the partner role after many years,” he says. “It’s either up or out. The goal of the OnRamp model is to push aside historical impediments and allow us to have case-by-case discussions of each indi-vidual and remove the stigma.

“If we can fi nd a way to attract these people, it will serve us and our clients tremendously. That’s a com-petitive advantage. A lot of these people are in their late 30s, 40s and even early 50s.”

He says the program has inspired Covington to start reaching out to other former employees who are inter-ested in coming back.

Stacy says large numbers of women fail to make partner at blue chip law fi rms for three primary reasons: ■ They leave before they have a chance.

■■ They don’t want it. ■ They face barriers to success because they don’t have

a champion or adequate support within a practice group.

The OnRamp Fellowship program seeks to topple these barriers in part by off ering fellows mentoring and career development opportunities.

“A lot of men in these fi rms are incredibly support-ive because their sisters or wives have been in this situ-ation,” says Stacy. “They know their daughters might be in that situation, too.”

People say law firms are not innovative. My feeling is that they are innovative, but they need good ideas.

38 D I V E R S I T Y & T H E B A R NOV.DEC.2015 MCCA.COM

Firms Use their Resources to Create a Culture of Success At Sidley, de la Rosa says she regularly has lunch with a female partner who also regu-larly comes by and checks in on her to moni-tor her progress. She and the partner have a quarterly conference call with the fi rm’s chief diversity offi cer.

“We talk about how the review process works, and she listens to our questions,” says de la Rosa, who was off ered a perma-nent position as an associate at the end of the fellowship.

Kathy Herman, who began a fellowship at Blank Rome in Philadelphia last February, says she was assigned a mentor and a career develop-ment advisor. She functions as a fi rst-year associate and says she receives a lot of training.

“They are supporting me in every way,” she says. “It’s probably in the fi rm’s best interest, as well for me, to stay here. They realize that there are lots of smart people out there. I think they perceive an investment in me as an invest-ment for them.”

Like de la Rosa, Herman began her career in 1986, after graduating from the University of Pittsburgh law school. She joined a large law fi rm in Philadelphia but lost her job a few years later when the fi rm started doing some downsizing. She worked for another fi rm and then a public company and got laid off again. Then Herman took up some general counsel work on a consulting basis. Around that time, her parents fell ill, so she stopped working. She was out for about three years.

“I had too big of a gap on my resume. I couldn’t get any leverage anywhere,” says Herman. “Given what I do, which is business law, securities and mergers and acquisitions, not all my skills were readily transferrable. [Potential employers] didn’t really understand why I had this gap. People would worry that my skills were rusty or that I would have a hard time re-integrating. It also may have been that they were apprehensive about hiring me because in some of these posi-tions, I was signifi cantly more experienced than my superior. I never really thought about going to a law fi rm at that point because I didn’t have a book of business.”

She says being appointed a fellow has been a great profes-sional move.

“This is my fourth fi rm,” she says. “I feel comfortable. I like the people. It’s a good personality fi t, and everyone is helpful. This is a good match for me.”

Both Herman and de la Rosa say they’ve had to adapt to changes in the legal profession, particularly in areas such as technology and administrative support.

“Technology was probably the biggest adjustment for me,” says de la Rosa. “So much of what attorneys do requires pretty good computer skills. When I was last in the business, there were two attorneys to one secretary. When I left, it was transi-tioning to three attorneys to one secretary. Now there are fi ve attorneys to one secretary.”

Still, de la Rosa says the program gives hope to experi-enced female attorneys who want to get back in.

“Be prepared to work very hard, but it is very rewarding,” she says. “We have a little bit of an advantage. One advantage is having real-world experience and having worked with people in diff erent sectors. You have to throw yourself into it and be confi dent.”

Sherman says the program is a win-win for the women and the law fi rms.

“The program is working, and it is working for all parties involved,” she says. “It is working for the women re-entering. It is working for the fi rm. It is working for the job at market and showing that people can think outside the box. I think it is a model that should be emulated in as many capacities as possible.” ■

LEKAN OGUNTOYINBO (oguntoyinbo@gmail.com)is a freelance journalist based in Columbia, Mo.

The goal of the OnRamp model is to push aside historical impediments and allow us to have case-by-case discussions of each individual and

remove the stigma.

MCCA.COM NOV.DEC.2015 D I V E R S I T Y & T H E B A R 39

By Jonathan Groner

As the first black woman to become president of the American Bar Association,

Paulette Brown regards herself as very fortunate to be granted a role in helping

solve the nation’s racial problems. And she believes that her efforts are only a part

of a larger trend: Lawyers and the law can and must be a key part of the solutions.

ABA Makes History

Meet Paulette Brown, ABA President

40 D I V E R S I T Y & T H E B A R NOV.DEC.2015 MCCA.COM

Brown, a labor and employment lawyer in the Mor-ristown, N.J., office of Locke Lord LLP, assumed her ABA office in August 2015. Brown’s presidency started at a time when the nation’s attention has been inces-santly riveted on issues such as the police shootings of unarmed black people and the racial symbolism of the Confederate flag. Brown has taken notice of the controversies.

She says, for example, that the rioting earlier this year in the wake of the death of Freddie Gray in police custody in Baltimore made her angry, precisely because “it distracts from the real rule-of-law issues here and the role that lawyers can play in resolving these issues.” The vast majority of Baltimore residents, Brown says, are law-abiding, although media coverage tended not to emphasize that.

Regarding the series of killings of unarmed suspects by cops nationwide, Brown says it’s important to note that “no two situations are the same.”

Brown adds, “Most people ask of each killing, ‘Was it justified?’ I prefer to ask, ‘What can be done to avoid these terrible incidents in the first instance?’ Lawyers are the people best equipped to come up with these solutions.” And those lawyers, Brown says, must in-clude prosecutors as well as defense attorneys.

Asking the Questions about Implicit Bias Brown, 64, says that while most prosecutors are out-standing public servants, prosecutors, in general, have a great deal of power, including the presumptive power to determine whether an individual will be charged with a crime and what that crime should be.

“Do prosecutors have implicit biases? That’s one of the questions not many people are asking,” Brown says. “Specifically, no one is talking about how many black women have died at the hands of police and who is being held accountable for those deaths.” Current esti-mates are that 20 percent of African-Americans killed by police are women.

Brown says many people also don’t realize how lawyers can contribute dramatically to social change in the nation.

“Had it not been for the involvement of lawyers, the U.S. Department of Justice may not have written the re-port that it did about justice in Ferguson, Mo.,” Brown points out. In March 2015, the department portrayed a situation in that St. Louis suburb that it said is the equivalent of a modern debtors’ prison.

The report, as Brown said, portrays a system that appears to be designed to put people in prison because of their poverty. The police find any excuse, the DOJ

report said, to arrest black residents and charge them with minor traffic or parking violations. If they can’t pay exorbitant fees and fines, they are put in jail.

“Shouldn’t people be told of the collateral conse-quences of pleading guilty (even if not) to certain of-fenses—that they may give up rights and opportunities that last for an eternity?” Brown says. “It’s lawyers who have pointed out these injustices, and it’s lawyers who will help to abolish them.”

Brown’s role in helping achieve racial equality in America is not limited to her advocacy of change in the criminal justice system. For decades, as a corporate lawyer, as a partner in her law firm and as a partner and chief diversity officer of Locke Lord LLP, she has fought against biases, subtle and overt.

Humble Beginnings for the Future ABA President Brown’s entire life, including her nearly 40 years as an attorney, has prepared her well for her current position and her “bully pulpit” at the 400,000-member ABA. She grew up attending segregated schools in Baltimore. Nei-ther her parents, nor her siblings, went to college. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Howard University in Washington, D.C., in 1973 and entered Seton Hall law school in New Jersey on a full scholarship. She was one of the few black students in her class of 1976.

Rather than choose to work right out of law school on civil rights or discrimination issues, Brown decid-ed at first to pursue a career in the corporate world. She thought her career counselors were directing her toward public defender jobs representing the poor simply because she was black, and she resented that. Her first job was with National Steel, then the nation’s third-largest steelmaker. She later worked as in-house counsel for Prudential Insurance Co. of America and other Fortune® 500 companies.

Brown served for a while as a municipal court judge in Plainfield, N.J., but found the position “too limiting.”

Brown says many people also don’t realize

how lawyers can contribute dramatically

to social change in the nation.

MCCA.COM NOV.DEC.2015 D I V E R S I T Y & T H E B A R 41

“I was in my thirties, and I just found the position wasn’t a good fit for me,” Brown says. She soon stepped down from the judgeship.

In 1984, Brown opened her firm, focusing on em-ployment law, civil rights and product liability. That firm, Brown & Childress in East Orange, N.J., merged with another firm in 1993 to become Brown, Lofton, Childress & Wolf, which was then the largest minori-ty-owned firm in the state. Brown, who was managing partner, remained at the firm until 1999, when she joined Duane Morris in Newark. She moved over to Ed-wards & Angell in 2005, and after a series of mergers, that firm became Locke Lord LLP. As chief diversity officer, Brown has trained the firm’s lawyers in all its offices to be sensitive to issues of all forms of biases.

“I trained every single person, including lawyers and staff, in the firm on the concept of implicit bias,” Brown says. “The process made everyone think about these issues in a new way.”

Brown says that partly because of her efforts, the firm has embraced diversity. The current firm has a female

managing partner, litigator Jerry K. Clements, and has several female lawyers and lawyers of color heading practice groups and major offices. “These are not figure-heads but people with real responsibilities,” Brown says.

Along the way in her career, Brown served as pres-ident of the predominantly black National Bar Asso-ciation and received many awards for public service and outstanding legal work. The National Law Journal recognized her as one of the 50 most influential minority lawyers in America. U.S. News repeatedly named her as one of the “Best Lawyers in America” in the area of com-mercial litigation. In 2011, she was honored by the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession with the Mar-garet Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Award.

A Champion of Diversity Diversity has long been one of Brown’s chief profes-sional interests. In 2006, she co-authored an import-ant ABA report, “Visible Invisibility: Women of Color

in Law Firms.” The report described the difficulties faced by black, Hispanic and Asian female lawyers in law firms and showed that they were leaving the legal profession at a high rate.

The report also found that female lawyers and law-yers of color are subject to demeaning comments and harassment, are skipped over for client development opportunities and desirable assignments, and lack net-working opportunities and access to significant billable hours. The report placed new focus on subtle racism and sexism within law firms and increased Brown’s visibility as an ABA leader and a champion of diversity.

“There are very few women of color in law firms. We are basically invisible,” Brown said at the time. She noted then that she was one of only three black female part-ners in major law firms in the entire state of New Jersey.

Brown says things are slowly changing now. Diversi-ty and inclusion, she says, is an imperative for law firms today, as corporate clients “simply say they get better results from law firms with diverse teams.”

“Here is a metaphor that I like,” she says. “If I have a baseball team, as important as the pitcher is, I don’t want all pitchers. I will have people who play all posi-tions. You cannot have a winning team with all pitchers. It’s necessary to have people with different experiences to ensure diversity of thought and better results.”

Brown says emphatically, though, that not all alle-gations of discrimination against a company or a law firm are true. In her role as an employment defense lawyer, one of the things she does is to help her clients distinguish between valid cases and “those that are actually bogus.”

“When I see a case that is brought without basis, it annoys me because, at least in public opinion, that jeopardizes the strength of the legitimate cases,” she says. “I have advised clients to settle meritorious cases where there really has been discrimination, conscious or unconscious. When a lawyer can do this and can call top management’s attention to the existence of uncon-scious bias, she can accomplish a great deal. My clients appreciate it.”

Brown says she has no desire to be remembered primarily as the first black woman to head the ABA, a voluntary membership organization that didn’t even admit black attorneys until 1943.

“I don’t relish being the first one if I don’t create a path for others to follow me,” she says. ■

JONATHAN GRONER ( jonathangroner@gmail.com) is a freelance writer in Washington, D.C., and a former managing editor of Legal Times.

I trained every single person, including

lawyers and staff, in the firm on the concept

of implicit bias. The process made everyone

think about these issues in a new way.

42 D I V E R S I T Y & T H E B A R NOV.DEC.2015 MCCA.COM

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and help you get published.

If you are interested in writing for Diversity &

the Bar® or you have a story idea,

please contact:

Kim Howard, CAEEditor-in-Chief

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Here are two pressing trends concerning corporate general counsel today: They are increasingly taking on executive and strategic management duties, and more of those in the baby boomer generation are retiring.

Yet, just 38 percent of companies reported having a formal succession plan for their general counsel, al-though 86 percent said it was important to be prepared for a GC’s departure. That’s according to “GCs: Adding Value to the C-Suite,” a survey sent to about 5,000 di-rectors, board chairs and CEOs of publicly traded com-panies. The study was conducted by executive search fi rm BarkerGilmore and NYSE Governance Services in February and March 2015.

Some 86 percent of board members say the general counsel is a member of the executive team, compared to

55 percent a decade ago, according to BarkerGilmore. In addition to their regulatory and risk-manage-

ment duties, GCs are more involved in the company’s performance and strategy, and 90 percent serve as cor-porate secretary. Survey participants said they looked to GCs for compliance, corporate governance, industry knowledge and guidance on shareholder engagement. GCs bring value in their ability to serve as an ethical sounding board, advise the CEO and the board and ensure that the board adheres to best practices, partic-ipants reported.

Successful Successiontips

for a

44 D I V E R S I T Y & T H E B A R NOV.DEC.2015 MCCA.COM

Successful SuccessionGeneral counsel turnover hit a 13-year high in early

2014, when 10 percent of large companies replaced their legal leaders, according to the study by BTI Consulting, Benchmarking Corporate Counsel Manage-ment Strategies. More baby boomer GCs who had put off retiring during the recession are headed to the exit door now that the markets, along with their portfolios, have improved.

Given the turnover in the GC ranks, why are so many companies unprepared to deal with the possible departure of such a key advisor?

“Every executive has pressing day-to-day matters they have to attend to. That causes important activities like succession planning to be put on the back burner,” says Bob Barker, a BarkertGilmore managing partner. “But boards are saying they expect these plans to be put in place.”

One impediment to succession planning is that many senior associates who want to advance to the top legal spot fi nd they may have to do so at another company, says Susan Hackett, founder of the law practice man-agement consultancy Legal Executive Leadership LLC.

“Most law departments have a fl at organizational structure, and there are few new positions for them to ascent to, so the pathway to general counsel is based on them leaving their current environment. That creates a perverse disincentive for general counsel to spend a lot of time on succession planning,” she says. Legal depart-ments that do a good job of preparing internal candi-dates for the helm are potentially setting themselves up to have their top talent poached. “Your department is the one everyone will turn to to hire from,” Hackett adds.

Succession planning is not simply grooming a No. 2 to take over. It’s a talent management strategy of

By Toni Coleman

Some 86 percent of board members say the general

counsel is a member of the executive team, compared to

55 percent a decade ago.

MCCA.COM NOV.DEC.2015 D I V E R S I T Y & T H E B A R 45

cultivating a pipeline of talent for leader-ship positions. This includes assessing where employees are with their skills, where the company needs them to be and fi lling in the gap with training, developmental assignments and mentoring.

A good succession planning process will also com-plement diversity eff orts because it replaces the “old boy” system of promotion. “Diversity programs require people to start to think about quantifying promotable experience and establishing more objective review and evaluation processes,” Hackett says. “When the process is more objective and transparent, it creates a clear pathway people can follow to success. What kinds of competencies are required in these roles, and how will they be judged? In many cases, those things were never carefully articulated or evaluated before.”

Talent management not only ensures companies ar-en’t caught fl atfooted when the GC leaves, but that the department is working toward peak effi ciency while improving staff retention. “The attrition rate seems to be much lower for these individuals where they believe there’s a succession plan in place and they’re a part of it,” says John Gilmore, a managing partner of Bark-erGilmore. “They’re much more productive for the company. They’re less motivated to leave because they see a clear career path for themselves.”

Ivan Fong, senior vice president, legal aff airs and general counsel at 3M, says he’s surprised by the study’s fi nding. “If we care about the quality of the advice we give and effi ciency of services we provide, it’s essential that we build a strong leadership pipeline,” Fong says. “Developing our talent and thinking about the career progression of our legal staff is one of the most important things that I do. I can’t aff ord not to have a high-performing team.”

At 3M, succession planning encompasses the entire department. Fong sits down annually with 3M’s CEO to

assess the health of the Minnesota-based

company’s legal, compli-ance, and government aff airs

teams, a discussion that includes a review of succession plans for senior-level leadership roles. Through this process, Fong works with others to help identify attor-neys who might be ready for more senior positions now and who will be in a few years.

During career planning conversations, staff typically share their aspirations, and supervisors then help them fi gure out how to develop the capabilities needed to advance to the next step. An attorney might receive expanded responsibilities, take on a stretch assignment or enroll in substantive or skills-enhancing courses. They might demonstrate their leadership potential by volunteering to work on a pro bono matter, serving on a department-wide committee (such as the legal depart-ment’s diversity and inclusion committee) or planning a professional development program for the staff . In-house counsel are also encouraged to seek experi-ences outside of the legal department, and because 3M is a global company with diverse business lines, from health care to electronics to energy, opportunities are extensive. One of the company’s intellectual property lawyers, for example, is on a multiyear assignment at one of 3M’s European locations.

Fong also pushes the law fi rms 3M works with to develop their bench strength. He wants to ensure those fi rms continue to provide lawyers who can meet 3M’s standards and can off er creative solutions and diverse viewpoints. “If we are working closely with a particular person and she leaves, it’s in the fi rm’s best interest to have someone who can succeed her,” Fong adds. “Oth-erwise, that business could go somewhere else.”

When getting high-potential staff members GC-ready, Hackett says to remember what corporate and

46 D I V E R S I T Y & T H E B A R NOV.DEC.2015 MCCA.COM

department executives are looking for: problem-solving skills in someone they trust. In addition to solid legal experience, internal candidates have to demonstrate good leadership traits and acquire business experience outside of the legal department, Hackett says.

Among the competencies identifi ed by BarkerGilm-ore, corporate general counsel should have business acumen; the ability to remain calm during a crisis; experience with talent management, mergers and ac-quisitions, and litigation; and interacting with internal and external constituents.

Candidates must have the full faith and confi dence of leadership. “In law departments, the people you’re responsible to are in the C-suite,” Hackett says. “A lot of companies, when the general counsel position comes open, are not looking at who is sitting in the pipeline but who will inspire the board and other stakeholders. People have to know and want to work with that senior lawyer. The whole point of the general counsel is to provide corporate leadership with candid and practi-cal business advice. If they don’t have faith in that GC candidate’s business savvy or trust their judgment, legal skills won’t matter.” 

GCs who are mentoring potential successors should “start exposing them regularly to high-level conver-sations and counseling opportunities to those people whose trust they’ll have to earn,” Hackett says. “Legal expertise alone just isn’t enough.”

Even with a solid, regularly reviewed succession plan in place, 90 percent of BarkerGilmore’s surveyed CEOs and directors said that internal candidates should be benchmarked against external talent. That means, in addition to grooming potential successors, GCs should have an eye on outside lawyers who can step into the role, Gilmore says.

Businesses are saying that “this role is so critical we can’t just assume the internal candidate is good enough,” Gilmore says. Still, putting internal candidates in contention shows goodwill. “Internal candidates

may not be ready for the role yet, but they’re high-val-ue employees that companies don’t want to lose. Put those candidates through the process to show that they haven’t wasted their time.”

Karen Roberts, executive vice president and general counsel for Wal-Mart Stores Inc., is emblematic of a suc-cession planning program done right. At Walmart, the legal department participates in the company’s overall talent planning process that helps associates develop skills and competencies needed for their next challenge and allows the company to have multiple successor can-didates available whenever opportunities open up.

Roberts joined the company in 1995 right out of law school, not in the legal department, but in the real estate division. She worked her way up to become the general counsel of real estate, and among other positions, became the executive vice president of real estate, running the business side of the operation.

“Any time you can get experience in how the company operates as a whole, it helps. Walmart has a long history of cross-pollinating,” she says, noting the advancement opportunities employees have if they’re willing to move across diff erent sectors and take on new challenges.

Roberts’ business experience, for example, was critical in preparing her for the GC role. “I’m aware of the perspectives that business leaders have. It helps us to shape how we work with our business partners. It’s helped me to be a better leader.” ■

TONI COLEMAN (coleman.tonim@yahoo.com) is a freelance writer and editor based in the Washington, D.C., area.

Tips for a Successful Succession■■ Hire in-house counsel with strong leadership skills and strategic business savvy potential.

■■ Develop a list of competencies needed to become general counsel and share with the staff .

■■ When developing the GC job descriptions and com-petencies, get input from stakeholders, including the CEO and board members.

■■ Periodically review internal candidates and their level of preparedness.

■■ Develop a plan to help counsel acquire new skills and a mentor.

■■ Expose counsel to new areas of business.■■ When it’s time to appoint a GC, compare internal candidates against external talent.

■■ Once a successor is chosen, plan for a smooth transition.

Source: General Counsel Succession Planning Practices from the Pros, BarkerGilmore

MCCA.COM NOV.DEC.2015 D I V E R S I T Y & T H E B A R 47

By Stephanie Resnick

In 1998, the Philadelphia Bar Association adopted the “Statement of Goals of Philadelphia Law Firms and Legal Departments for the Retention and Promotion of Women” (Statement of Goals). At the time, I was an equity partner at Fox Rothschild LLP for six years and the chair of the Firm’s Partnership Advancement Committee. My firm was one of the first to sign on to the Statement of Goals, which were established to address the discrepancies between the number of men and women who were able to accede to the partnership ranks and leadership positions within the firms. Fift y-two other firms were also signatories to the Statement of Goals. The Philadelphia Bar Association was one of the first bar associations in the country to promulgate a best practices guide for the retention and promotion of women. Ultimately, other bar associations across the country followed.

Advancement of Female Attorneys in Law FirmsWhere Are We Today?

48 D I V E R S I T Y & T H E B A R NOV.DEC.2015 MCCA.COM

Advancement of Female Attorneys in Law FirmsEssentially, each signatory law fi rm pledged to remove

barriers to full and equal participation and treatment of female attorneys. That included accepting and promoting gender diversity as a core value. It also included creating equal ac-cess and opportunities for women; creating an inclusive work environment; encouraging women’s professional development and training; creating a mentoring culture; supporting a fl exible work schedule; making gender diversity an economic principle; and enacting a fair compensation system alleviating inherent gender biases. The policies were expressly set forth to address both retention and promotion of female attorneys. There was also a self-analysis component of the Statement of Goals, which confi rmed that the signatory law fi rms would conduct self-eval-uations to ensure compliance with the goals.

The reaction to the Statement of Goals was that they would enhance the ability of women to rise among the ranks in law fi rms, in-house counsel, etc. When all was said and done, I thought we—the female lawyers—were positioned well. Firms

that had signed on to this policy were embracing it. Everything would be equal now. All was good with the world of women in law fi rms. However, what has occurred since that time is not nearly enough, and more attention to these issues is critical.

The Numbers Don’t LieIt seems like a fundamental and uncontroversial premise to allow and encourage qualifi ed women to accede to partner or leadership positions. However, that is not necessarily the case. Although some fi rms, like mine, have been on the forefront of this issue, elevating female attorneys who were working on a part-time basis to equity partner, other fi rms were tremendously disappointing. Upon refl ection, there should have been more emphasis, sensitivity, oversight and fl exibility on creating equal access and opportunities for women in law fi rms.

In July 2013, the National Association of Women Lawyers issued a report called “Actions for Advancing Women in Law Firm Leadership and in the General Counsel’s Offi ce” (Report).

MCCA.COM NOV.DEC.2015 D I V E R S I T Y & T H E B A R 49

In issuing its 2013 Report, NAWL summarized its “Actions for Change” as a result of NAWL leadership summits in 2007 and 2010–2011. The report referenced its fi rst summit of female lawyers and leaders, which was convened in 2007 to address retention and promotion of women in law fi rms. The summit followed NAWL’s challenge in 2006 “to double the percentage of women equity partners within the Am Law 200.” When the ini-tial NAWL summit was held in 2007, its survey showed that “men held 92 percent of managing partner positions in the largest U.S. law fi rms, 85 percent of the seats on fi rm governing committees and 84 percent of equity partnerships.” Five years later in 2012, NAWL completed “National Survey on Retention and Promotion of Women in Law Firms” following a series of second summits. The report sadly concluded, “Five years later, the numbers are disturbingly the same. The ‘2012 National Survey on Retention and Promotion of Women in Law Firms’ confi rms that little progress has been made in advancing women and diverse lawyers into leadership positions. Further, the latest survey revealed that women are leaving big fi rms earlier and the proportion of women entering big fi rm practice decreased for the second year in a row. Women still lag in compensation . . .”

So . . . Where Do We Go Now? While there is greater sensitivity to the principles that are needed to advance women in law fi rms, we are not there yet.

Firms need to have formal Women’s Initiative Committees. These committees should promote rainmaking activities, pro-fessional networking and guidance on the partnership process. Focus must be on improving business generation activities, the importance of networking in the community and the “how-tos” of making partner within the fi rm. Further, the committees must be accountable to the management of the fi rm.

In addition, law fi rms must promote women to leadership po-sitions, and the importance of this principle must be adopted by the senior management. The involvement of female attorneys in focused marketing activities and women in the profession activi-ties through the bar association or otherwise must be supported and ingrained throughout the fi rm.

Law fi rms need a transparent compensation system where maintaining, expanding and growing a fi rm client will result in increased compensation. Senior female partners must also reach back to help associates. Too often, not enough mentoring and support is provided to female attorneys coming up the ranks by those who have been successful in the fi rm. Complex assign-ments should be distributed equally, and part-time policies must be adopted and enforced.

Tips for Female AttorneysFemale attorneys must also take responsibility to succeed in a law fi rm. To that end, here are some suggestions:

50 D I V E R S I T Y & T H E B A R NOV.DEC.2015 MCCA.COM

■■ Be an outstanding attorney. So often we overlook this part of the equation. Demonstrate how your skill set is exempla-ry and how you can handle a major complex transaction or litigation matter. Further demonstrate how important your skill set is to clients.

■■ Be a rainmaker. Originate new clients or client matters. Even if you are not originating new clients, maintain and expand existing client relationships.

■■ Be responsive. Show clients and supervising attorneys that their matters are important.

■■ Be a fi rst chair. No one expects an associate to try a signifi cant case or handle a signifi cant transaction alone. However, there are various ways to show fi rst chair responsibility. Be “fi rst chair” on an aspect of the transaction or lawsuit. For instance, an associate can be “fi rst chair” in handling discovery disputes before a discovery master, handle and facilitate expert testimo-ny, take and defend important depositions and the like. This is important to making partner, as it shows an ability to handle matters independently.

■■ Be integral to a client or client’s work. Be the “go to” per-son with the client, even if the billing partner is that client’s lawyer as well. Ingratiate yourself with the client. Know the client and learn about the client. Be indispensable. Let the client understand how you add value to his cases or trans-actions. Present a situation where you are in direct contact

with the client and considered a resource by the client. Be an expert in your fi eld.

■■ Find yourself a real mentor. Often, mentors are assigned and there is no chemistry. Identify a senior attorney whom you like and respect, and reach out to that person and request business mentoring. Work with your mentor on partnership and busi-ness generation.

■■ Advocate for yourself. Demonstrate your signifi cant accom-plishments at the fi rm. Shout them out. No one can be a better advocate for you than you.

■■ Be an e� ective leader. Lead by example. Provide constructive criticism and praise to younger attorneys. Commend attorneys who achieve results and victories. Show that you can support the eff orts of others and that you are a team player.

Nothing is perfect. As law fi rms continue to be receptive to changing the atmosphere to be more inclusive and recognize the importance of these principles, with drive, hard work, meaning-ful eff ort and guidance, female lawyers will continue to advance at a greater pace in law fi rms. ■

STEPHANIE RESNICK (SResnick@foxrothschild.com ) is chair of Fox Rothschild LLP’s Directors’ and Off icers’ Liability and Corporate Governance Practice Group and former chair of the firm-wide litigation department. She is a senior trial lawyer who handles business disputes in state and federal court, has served multiple terms on the firm’s management committee and is former chair of the partnership advancement committee.

Editor’s Note: The Ninth Annual NAWL National Survey on Retention and Promotion of Women in Law Firms is now available at www.nawl.org/p/cm/ld/fid=506.

MCCA.COM NOV.DEC.2015 D I V E R S I T Y & T H E B A R 51

RAINMAKERS MCCA’s Annual List of Rainmakers proves that the profession has talented lawyers who also have valuable business development skills. This list includes attorneys from around the country who practice a wide variety of law. Their success stories offer insight and value to lawyers at every career stage.

Who Always SHINE

By Patrick Folliard

52 D I V E R S I T Y & T H E B A R NOV.DEC.2015 MCCA.COM

DEBRA BAKERPartner Baker Wotring LLPHoustonYears Practicing: 30Practice Area: Environmen-tal and Litigation“Having a unique niche area of expertise is a way to attract and retain clients,”

says Debra Baker. “We’re a commercial litigation and environmental boutique law firm—it’s unusual for a small firm to do both the regulatory side of environ-mental as well as full-scale environmental litigation—providing representation to companies, governments, ports, railroads and individuals in significant and complex matters.”

Prior to establishing Baker Wotring in 2001, Baker was at a big Houston firm handling a complex, ongoing case. But when the firm merged with another even larger firm on the other side of her case, an insur-mountable conflict arose. “The client asked me to stay with the case, and it was negotiated that we’d set up a small firm,” recalls Baker. “I was flattered, and the large matter went on for several more years. During that time we discovered a real market for a boutique firm. Fourteen years later, we are still here and flour-ishing and have achieved record-setting results for our clients in a number of diverse and complex cases.”

Born in Washington, D.C., the daughter of a career military man and a Japanese war bride, Baker worked her way through the University of Maryland and Georgetown University Law Center. She left Washington for Houston in search of opportunities. “In the ’80s, Houston was an especially dynamic place for law then; there was a lot of work surrounding refining and shipping.”

Despite its relative size, Houston has a small town feel, says Baker. “It’s really not unusual here for lawyers and clients to become friends. We do CLEs for clients, volunteer at their organizations and team up with them to do charity events. For over 20 years, Baker has also produced, written and/or performed in an all-lawyer musical theater production in Hous-ton, leading her to meet numerous lawyers and judg-es, while raising an amount approaching $1 million for law-related charities. “In building a practice here, it really helps to include a social component.

I also speak and publish a lot on environmental law

topics. I have taught environmental law at area law schools, and some of my former students have become clients. But foremost, we strive to provide the highest level of client service and produce an exceptional work product for our clients.”

MICHAEL A. BROWN LitigationMiles & Stockbridge BaltimoreYears Practicing: 25“Ask, ask, ask,” says Mi-chael Brown. “That’s how you get work. If they say no, you are in the same place you were before you asked.”

A principal and trial law-yer in Miles & Stockbridge’s Baltimore office, Brown handles complex cases in a number of jurisdictions around the country with a focus on products liability, mass torts and commercial litigation.

Now considered a rainmaker, Brown didn’t like tra-ditional associate responsibilities early in his career and knew he had to find a way to be engaged with the firm’s work. “I had just bought my mother a new house, and giving up wasn’t an option. So I began finding clients of my own and asking for opportunities to try cases.”

Several years after starting his career in 1989 at Miles & Stockbridge, Brown set out on his own with two friends. That is where he learned the most about being a rainmaker. For Brown, those years were “sink or swim” time, and he swam. The firm he helped found grew to become Maryland’s largest certified mi-nority-owned law firm. In 2009, he returned to Miles & Stockbridge with a sizable book of business.

“I know my interests, as well as my strengths, and I like trying cases more than running a firm. Returning to Miles & Stockbridge gave me the opportunity to try large cases and to be supported by the resources of a larger firm.”

Despite the focus on self-preservation, says the Georgetown Law grad, “We’re all in this together. While I like to bring in work and win cases, I’m not the guy to write a 50-page brief for appellate court. It takes a team to sustain a top-notch practice, and I am lucky to work with talented lawyers, paralegals and support staff who help make it happen.”

MCCA.COM NOV.DEC.2015 D I V E R S I T Y & T H E B A R 53

KELLY-ANN CARTWRIGHTPartnerHolland & Knight LLP Miami Years practicing: 24Practice Area: Labor and EmploymentLike a lot of other rainmaking part-ners, Kelly-Ann Cartwright cites time as an ongoing challenge. In addition to a full litigation practice, she is also

on Holland & Knight’s Directors Committee and serves as the executive partner of the firm’s Miami office. “It’s definitely a balancing act. As a partner, you’re under constant pressure to bring in work. But you also have to give constant attention to your practice.”

Cartwright’s practice focuses on general civil and commercial litigation with an emphasis on employment discrimination, civil rights, business torts and labor law.

“My practice didn’t develop overnight. It’s a work in progress,” she says. “As you develop expertise and become successful in matters with clients, more business comes your way. Of course the timing has to be right. Certain things—like the right class action or collective action lawsuit—get you seen and open doors.”

In her third year of studying finance at the University of Flor-ida, Cartwright decided against a career in the banking industry and opted to pursue a career in law instead. “I like the debate. I like litigation and advocacy. A certain thrill still comes from liti-gating a case successfully, whether it’s a success at the summary judgment stage, arbitration or trial.”

Born in Georgetown, Guyana, Cartwright spent four years in England. The family then moved to the States and settled in Miami, a city she describes as a vibrant place to be educated and pursue a career.

In terms of business development style, Cartwright says doing good work generates the best referrals. “It’s also important to be out there doing speaking engagements and seminars,” she says. “Anything that places you in front of people who have the ability to hire outside counsel is beneficial.”

SAMUEL A. DANONPartnerHunton & Williams LLP Miami Years Practicing: 24Practice Area: Business Litigation Early in his career, Sam Danon’s language skills set him on the road to rainmaking. “I had not thought much about it before, but when I was help-

ing a domestic company with its operations in Latin America, the GC expressed how beneficial my dual language skills were to American clients. A light bulb went off: Because my first language is Spanish, Latin American clients were very comfortable with me. And as a U.S.-trained attorney, I could report back to domes-tic clients on Latin American-related matters in English, ensuring that they had a very good understanding of the matter.”

Today, Danon’s practice focuses on commercial disputes, investigations, consumer class actions, government regulatory advice and corporate compliance, largely for financial institutions and manufacturers of consumer goods. “Litigation is what drives the practice. Half of my work deals with matters that have a connection to Latin America—either Latin American companies being sued here or domestic companies that have operations in Latin America and need guidance.

“My goal was always to have my own practice,” says Danon, who earned his JD at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. “So, I focused on upcoming opportunities from the beginning. I viewed all of the work I was given as a chance to create lasting re-lationships and was never concerned with the immediate dollars involved. Looking back, I think I had a sense of the big picture that has served me well.”

Still, a lot of what comes a lawyer’s way is based on being in the right place at the right time, so preparation is extremely important. For Danon that means being a strong practitioner who proves his credibility by not only bringing in work but also continuing to try cases. And he does this in addition to performing his duties as head of the Hunton & Williams Litigation team, a team of more than 300 attorneys located throughout the United States.

“I try not to get bogged down thinking in the short term,” he adds. “So much is measured on a yearly basis, so it’s easy to get caught up in annual results, but I know it’s not helpful in the long run.”

SAMIR A. GANDHIPartnerSidley Austin LLPNew YorkYears Practicing: 25Practice Area: Corporate“After pitching a prospective client at lunch, rarely do you go back to the office and find a message saying they want to hire you,” says Samir Gandhi. “Now and then people will hire you for a large matter immedi-ately without having worked with you before. But most of my significant work comes from lasting relationships I’ve developed by taking the time over a number of years to listen to clients and understand their business and concerns.”

54 D I V E R S I T Y & T H E B A R NOV.DEC.2015 MCCA.COM

Gandhi is the co-practice leader of Sidley Austin’s New York corporate group and focuses on capital markets offerings, cor-porate and governance matters, private equity transactions and transactions involving India. He also represents The Confedera-tion of North, Central America and Carribbean Association Foot-ball, one of the confederations comprising FIFA, the governing body of world soccer. “It is far more boring than it sounds, but pretty interesting as far as practices go,” he says.

At Sidley, all lawyers are encouraged to be commercial but also encouraged to work together in teams, he says. “When I pitch cli-ents, I pitch the firm and the vast resources and expertise we can provide–I rarely pitch myself. I make sure we’re being responsive and that subject matter experts that the client needs are available to help. I’m the quarterback of a great team. That’s the benefit of a large firm with lots of resources and lawyers who make it a priority to collaborate with each other.”

Gandhi advises associates, “Today’s young lawyers have great communication skills but these tend to be primarily electronic and social media-based. The most important advice that I have gotten and give is: Learn to listen. The best way to do that is through personal interaction–you don’t need to listen when you are texting someone, but you do when you are on the phone or meeting them in person. Shooting off an email to a client or a colleague isn’t always the best way to understand the client’s business and needs.

And discipline is imperative. For 20 years, Gandhi has made at least three practice development calls to clients and potential clients each week, sometimes more but never less. “Finding who to call is the easy part. The hard part is having something to say. Only when you say something smart that is valuable to them and their business will they listen. Clients who think you have their interests in mind and can provide them with value always call you for work.”

FAITH E. GAY Partner and Co-Chair of National Trial PracticeQuinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLPNew YorkYears Practicing: 28Practice Area: Litigation Growing up in the segregated South, Faith Gay aspired to become either a lawyer or a minister. “I liked to tell stories and had an interest in social change, so both paths appealed to me,” she says. “But ultimately I decided I could have more of an impact in law, and there were even fewer female ministers than women practicing trial law at the time.”

Gay is co-chair of Quinn’s national trial practice. Her own practice is divided among complex civil litigation, corporate governance and white collar matters. Prior to entering private practice, she was deputy chief of the Special Prosecutions Unit and the Civil Rights Division while serving as an assistant United States attorney in the Eastern District of New York.

Because Quinn is an all-litigation firm, there is no corporate practice to feed litigators. Senior partners devote significant time to cultivating new work. “Essentially, we build on the firm’s reputation as the most aggressive and creative trial practice in the world. We strive to be game changers while remaining ultra- sensitive to our clients’ major challenges. We are devoted to anticipating our clients’ objectives and the strategies of our adversaries 24/7.”

For Gay’s generation, the number of women trying major cases is small. “But that’s changing. As women have developed world-class trial resumes and clients have become more sophisticated, opportunities for women have expanded.

“These days,” says Gay, “I don’t get hired because I’m a wom-an. I’m hired for my depth of experience.”

FRANCIS Q. HOANGPartner Fluet Huber + Hoang PLLCWoodbridge, VAYears Practicing: 12Practice Area: Government ContractsBefore he was a lawyer, France Hoang was already making the connections that would make him a rainmaking partner. A West Point graduate, he served as an officer in the U.S. Army and later went on to earn a JD from Georgetown University Law Center.

“Law struck me as yet another way to serve,” says Hoang, who was evacuated from Saigon at age two and grew up in Washing-ton state. “As an immigrant, I don’t take freedom for granted. I’ve always been driven by a desire to give back.”

A partner with Fluet Huber + Hoang since 2010, he represents, advises and counsels middle-market companies on a wide variety of matters, including sensitive government inquiries and internal investigations, corporate compliance, corporate governance and government contracts law.

Prior to his current position, Hoang served as associate coun-sel to the president of the United States under President George W. Bush. He was briefly an assistant United States attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia.

Hoang’s ethos of service extends to his ideas on business development. His mission is to help others solve problems as painlessly as possible. Similarly, he is there for his colleagues: In

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addition to building and sustaining his own book of business, Ho-ang is in charge of business development strategies for the entire firm. “Beyond my own book,” he explains, “I oversee a marketing and sales system based on tangible results that supports other partners in building their books. At our firm, entrepreneurial law-yers can come in and build something they can call their own.”

His advice to associates: “Be stellar at your craft. But it’s also important to lift your heads from the legal documents and meet other people. Enjoy people. Ultimately, clients hire lawyers based on relationships. People want to be with people whom they like.”

MARY E. INNIS Managing PartnerInnis Law Group LLCChicago Years Practicing: 28Practice Area: Intellectual Property Over four years ago, after decades in big law, Mary Innis opened her IP boutique firm in Chicago. Innis Law Group specializes in trademark, copy-right, unfair competition, advertising, rights of publicity, privacy and Internet law.

Her practice is based on developing authentic relationships with clients, says Innis. “My clients stay with me because I do good work and place an emphasis on service. They know I genu-inely care.”

After law school, Innis joined a prestigious Chicago firm with a heavy concentration in trademark litigation. “As one of the younger lawyers, and for many years the only female equity partner at that firm, I learned that I couldn’t depend on senior partners to choose me for the work I wanted to do. So through a combination of luck and sheer determination, I molded my own practice from a young age. As a young associate, I amassed over a million dollars of business.

“From the start, I had a passion for advertising work and sought it out. I like it because it encompasses things like fashion and entertainment, parts of our everyday lives that are easy to understand.” Ambitious and interested, Innis pursued cases and connections involving the branding, advertising and media world throughout her career. “When I started my practice there was no Internet. I moved along with my clients as things changed from putting a name on a brand of product to content marketing and branding and emerging multi-platform advertising promotions. The practice has changed. And 20 years later I still have a lot of the same clients.”

RANDALL R. LEE Partner Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLPLos AngelesYears Practicing: 26Practice Area: Litigation/ControversyRainmaking partner Randall Lee’s practice involves representing companies and individuals facing investigation or enforcement action by the government, mostly commonly the Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice. “Business development can be tough in this practice area,” he says. “Clients’ needs are unpredictable, and most clients aren’t a source of repeat business. In fact, when a matter is done, it’s not uncommon for a client to say, ‘Thanks very much for the help, and I hope I never see you again.’”

Lee started his legal career as a transactional lawyer, but after four-and-a-half years he began to have doubts. “What I really wanted was to wear a white hat as a government lawyer. It took a leap of faith. I’d never set foot in court or written a brief before. But I knew it was time to give it a try before it became too late.”

Lee’s interest in public service was initially piqued by his family’s experience. His maternal grandfather was the first Jap-anese-American graduate of the University of Washington law school. But that didn’t preclude Lee’s mother’s family from being incarcerated in internment camps during WWII, along with over 70,000 other American citizens of Japanese ancestry.

Lee has never regretted his decision to change practice areas. He spent 13 years in public service, serving first in the U.S. attor-ney’s office for the Central District of California and later as SEC regional director in Los Angeles and “loved it from the first day to the last.”

In 2007, Lee returned to the private sector to open Wilmer-Hale’s Los Angeles office. “It was a daunting proposition. I came from government without a single client,” he remembers. “And like a true California startup, our first location was my garage. Now we’re a thriving and busy office with over 30 lawyers.”

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VINCENT J. NAPOLEON PartnerNixon Peabody LLPWashington, D.C.Years Practicing: 30Practice Area: Government ContractsVince Napoleon shies away from the term “rainmaker” as it applies to his model of business development. He sees himself more as a team leader and a trusted legal and business advisor to his clients. He brings a unique perspective to the table as a result of his experience and leadership.

“I lead Nixon Peabody’s government contracts team and work with a multi-practice group of lawyers across our firm’s offices,” Napoleon explains. “We work closely with companies to help them take advantage of the opportunities associated with federal, state and local government contracts. Beyond the contracts, we make sure our clients also understand the risks, obligations and larger business issues associated with them. In addition to our traditional government contract work, we have recently expand-ed our practice to include working on public-private partnerships issues.

“I am focused on serving not only as a legal advisor to my clients,but also as a business partner,” says Napoleon. “I look for ways to help our clients’ businesses forward, identify new busi-ness opportunities or weigh in on strategy where my knowledge and experience can add value.”

Prior to joining Nixon Peabody, Napoleon served as general counsel of major divisions of Fortune® 100 companies for more than 25 years. “That experience provided me with valuable insight from a client’s perspective as I think proactively about solutions to our clients’ business challenges,” says Napoleon. I also served as general counsel of two publicly held companies (a pharmaceutical-related company and a biotechnology company) where I was a member of senior leadership teams and advised and counseled boards of directors.”

A Philadelphia native who was determined to be a lawyer since the age of nine, Napoleon says he realized his goal with the support of interested teachers and an intense professional pipe-line program geared to minority high school students. He enjoys his work and values his clients. As he supports his clients’ needs, Napoleon believes, “It’s vital to have an understanding of what it means to supply good client service–being proactive and predic-tive to provide insight into and an understanding on the issues a client hasn’t yet anticipated.”

CYNTHIA R. ROWLAND Partner Farella Braun + MartelFamily Wealth, Exempt OrganizationsSan Francisco Years Practicing: 27 years Cynthia Rowland describes herself as a connector. “I connect people with those who can help them achieve their goals. It might be me, or it might another attorney, but I’m always thinking about how to get the problem solved by the best person.”

A partner in Farella Braun + Martel’s San Francisco office, Rowland specializes in representing nonprofits and their donors. Over the years, her practice has evolved into something uniquely her own.

Current projects include assisting with a charitable contri-bution of a large art collection; helping a “sharing economy” business to create a corporate foundation; and, on the business side of philanthropy, representing a large nonprofit with a major property acquisition. Rowland is enthusiastic about her clients and the diversity of the challenges they bring. “What’s not to like about helping good people to make the world a better place?” she asks.

When the economy tanked in 2008, Rowland remained busy. “Mine is actually a stable practice with mild ups and downs. Still, it’s necessary that I be willing to grow and evolve. Early on in the development of my practice, I would frequently change what I was doing to look for new ways to reach new clients. Now, I change when necessary to remain relevant. Innovation and con-nection is what make me stand out to a lot of clients.

“I entered the profession very shy with two young children, but I really enjoyed the work. It took many years to build a robust practice. It wasn’t easy, and it took a concentrated effort. But I love what I do, and that makes it all click. When asked by young attorneys for advice on becoming a rainmaker, that’s what I tell them: Do what you love.”

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JESSE H. RUIZPartnerDrinker Biddle & Reath LLPChicago Years Practicing: 18Practice Area: Corporate & SecuritiesJesse Ruiz never takes his rainmak-ing status for granted. A client once told him “never confuse effort with results,” and it hit home. “I can work

very hard, but if I’m not getting the results they’re paying for, then I’m not serving their needs,” he says. “I have to keep abreast of what’s happening in their world and anticipate how to keep them satisfied. I need to be a periscope for our clients. If I can see around the corner and alert them to upcoming problems, then I’m very valuable to them.

“During my first three years at the firm, I focused on work-ing hard and learning,” says Ruiz. “I was learning to be a skilled corporate lawyer. Then I concentrated on growing my corporate and securities practice.”

Drinker Biddle encourages its partners to be active civically and engaged in public service. As one of a few Hispanic large firm partners in Chicago, Ruiz is asked to do a lot of things, partic-ularly with nonprofits and the local and national Hispanic bar associations. “It’s my way of giving back,” he says. “You show up and get the job done. It is also a way to meet a lot of people who become friends, and those relationships can at times lead to client opportunities.”

In April, the mayor of Chicago asked Ruiz to temporarily step in as CEO of Chicago Public Schools. For three months, Ruiz, who has served on city and state education boards, gave up his practice to run the country’s third largest school district. It was heady stuff for Ruiz, whose father was a Mexican immigrant with a third-grade education. “In life you have to be ready for the un-expected opportunity. You can position yourself, but sometimes something just falls into your lap. To make the most of it, you must be prepared.”

CHARLENE (CHUCK) SHIMADAPartnerMorgan, Lewis & Bockius LLPSan FranciscoYears Practicing: 34Practice Area: Litigation “Not many women and even few-er woman of color have received recognition in my field,” says Char-lene Shimada, a securities litigation partner in Morgan Lewis’ San Francisco office. But Shimada, a Hawaii native who goes by “Chuck” (a middle school nickname that stuck), is a woman of many firsts: first in her family to graduate college; first female law clerk to her federal judge; first female litigation partner at her prior firm, McCutchen Doyle Brown & Enersen LLP; and first woman of color to serve as that firm’s office managing partner, becoming one of the first women of color to serve in that position in any major U.S. law firm.

“It’s not that I set out to be first,” she says. “It’s that I love my work and strive to be an asset to my clients and the firm.” Shimada also strives to be a leader in and outside the firm. She co-founded Women In Securities, a network for women securi-ties defense litigators in the Bay Area that seeks to promote their development and advancement. She also serves on the Bar Asso-ciation of San Francisco’s board of directors and is a Ninth Circuit lawyer representative.

“The overwhelming portion of new business goes to attorneys who already have relationships with the clients,” says Shima-da. “So it’s hard to break in. This is challenging for women and diverse attorneys who historically haven’t had the same opportu-nities to develop business relationships.”

In response, Shimada’s approach is to become indispensable to clients, make their goals her own and always provide excellent legal work, she says. She also finds internal business development can be a real boon. “When you’re in a large national or global firm with relationships in a wide range of industries, it’s critical to market yourself internally. It’s part of the culture at Morgan Lewis and is very much encouraged and rewarded.”

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RAM C. SUNKARAPartnerSutherland Asbill & Brennan LLPHoustonYears Practicing: 12Practice Area: Energy, Environmental and Commodities“There isn’t a set blueprint for business development,” says Ram Sunkara, a rainmaking partner whose

practice includes representing Fortune® 100 companies, private equity firms and diversified energy companies pursuing cut-ting-edge energy investments and implementing global energy efficiency and sustainability initiatives. “Your approach must dovetail with your personality and strengths. Throughout my career, I’ve learned different business development techniques from my mentors and other successful attorneys. I utilize a lot of those skills in ways that suit my personality. The legal industry is a relationship-driven business, and for any relationship to thrive, it has to be based on authenticity.”

Sunkara recognized early in his career that he had a knack for relating to a wide range of clients and understanding their needs. “It’s important to move from being a doer to a trusted business adviser to the client. To achieve that, one must learn the ins and outs of their clients’ businesses and be proactive in identifying both risks and opportunities for clients utilizing that expertise.”

Born in India and raised in Atlanta, Sunkara is one of the youngest equity partners in Sutherland’s history. He credits his parents with instilling in him a love for learning and a strong work ethic. “They were first-generation immigrants who didn’t have a lot, but they gave me everything they had.”

Sunkara always knew he wanted to do transactional work, but his start was in a different practice. “I entered the profession just after the dotcom bubble burst, so my first firm assigned me to products liability litigation. While I’d later move back to trans-actional work, litigating was actually a good experience for me. I learned the importance of understanding complex subject matter and how to avoid ambiguity in the transactional context.”

When asked how he sustains his large stable of clients, Sunk-ara cited a known quote: “Successful people are not gifted; they just work hard, then succeed on purpose.” Rainmaking, according to Sunkara, takes both hard work and design. “You have to really understand your client’s business. That means making an invest-ment off the clock to learn about it—not just because it could lead to business, but because you genuinely have an interest in your client. Sincerity makes a big difference.”

JEONG-HWA (JUNE) LEE TOWERYPartner Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLPAtlantaYears Practicing: 19Practice Area: Korea Jeonghwa (June) Towery is uncom-fortable with the label rainmaker. But she recalls vividly when she was recognized as one: “It was during my partner review. An executive committee member not-ed my book of business and said ‘now you’re one of the big boys.’”

In Korean culture, women are expected to remain in the back-ground, says Towery, a native Korean who came to the U.S. as a college student. “Throughout my career I’ve walked a fine line balancing a showing respect and commanding authority.”

Prior to her legal career, Towery taught school for nine years. But there came a point when she looked at her children and won-dered how she would send them to college on a teacher’s salary. “I had to do something, but I didn’t think I had the language skills to be a lawyer,” she remembers. “It was scary, but I did it. And I’m glad I did. I truly take joy in helping others, and my practice allows me to do that.”

Towery mostly represents foreign-owned manufacturing companies in the U.S. “Working with foreign expats, I spend a lot of time explaining U.S. laws,” she says. “I empathize with them. They’re learning a new language and adjusting to life in a differ-ent culture while simultaneously running a company and having to turn a profit.

“In some aspects, law practice is like teaching. I don’t just take care of the problems. I take time to explain and set up how they can avoid future problems.”

Towery started her practice making cold calls. Today, most of her work comes from referrals and repeat business. “My repu-tation as a trusted legal advisor is very important to me. When clients have a complaint about a bill, speed of service or my staff, I take it very seriously. If they’re not satisfied in any way, then I try to make it right for them.” ■

PATRICK FOLLIARD (epf2810@gmail.com) is a freelance writer based in Silver Spring, Md.

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Ten Years aft er Receiving an LMJ Scholarship:

Finding the Class of 2005 By Glenn Cook

60 D I V E R S I T Y & T H E B A R NOV.DEC.2015 MCCA.COM

Patricia Astorga knows she would not be where she is without help from others. Now, as a corporate attorney with a top New York City law firm, she’s making it her life’s work to give back.

“Not a day goes by where I think I could have done this on my own,” says Astorga, who in 2005 was one of the first recipients of the Minority Corporate Council Association’s LMJ Scholarship. “I grew up with an early awareness that I was different from oth-ers and that I was discriminated against, and in a lot of ways that shaped my views on our responsibility to help others who have faced similar circumstances.”

Astorga, who knew limited English when she moved to the U.S. from the Philippines at age eight, is now an associate at Mil-bank Tweed Hadley & McCloy. She also is a director of the Filipi-no American Legal Defense and Education Fund, an organization that specializes in pro bono legal services and “know your rights” programs for the immigrant community.

This pay-it-forward approach is what the LMJ Scholarship has helped engender over the past 11 years. More than 160 first-year law students, all highly qualified but facing steep financial hardships, have received the $10,000 award from MCCA. Many also have re-ceived funds from the organization for their second and third years in law school, as well as internships from MCCA members.

Today, those who have finished law school have gone on to varied careers in the corporate, government and nonprofit worlds (see sidebar on page 62). Over the next several issues, Diversity & the Bar will profile scholarship recipients from each class and look at what they’re doing now to make a difference.

Mom Knows BestLike Astorga, many of the scholarship recipients are first- and sec-ond-generation immigrants who have had to overcome significant cultural and socioeconomic barriers.

Astorga faced hurdles as a young child. Her parents had split up, which was frowned upon in Manila’s deeply Catholic community already facing a difficult economic and social transition at the end of the Marcos regime.

“Being the child of a single parent poses extra challenges, and I certainly faced some discrimination because of it,” she says. “It was more so in my everyday life, with people asking, ‘Why are your parents not together?’ I was having to deal with circumstances that weren’t ‘normal.’”

When she was eight, Astorga’s paternal grandmother pulled her out of school and brought her to Jersey City, N.J., without telling her mother, Diana. When she found out, Diana “gave up everything—her career, her home—and flew here to be with me.”

“I didn’t know much about what was going on at the time. But my mom raised me and put me through school there,” Astorga says. “I grew up in a predominantly immigrant community. People

took it on themselves to help us, to help my mother get a job, to help me adjust to school, to help me learn English. That made a huge impact on my life.”

Astorga also learned her first lesson about the law from her mother, who made sure the proper paperwork was filed so she could eventually become a U.S. citizen.

“My mother taught me that the law affects the everyday lives of the people around you,” Astorga says. “She compared it to knowing the rules of the game. You can’t win the game if you don’t know the rules, and to succeed in this environment, you needed to know the rules of the law.”

Do the One Thing that Scares You the MostAstorga’s mother taught her another valuable lesson: “Always do the one thing that scared me the most.” So as a freshman at McNair Academic High, she decided to join the school’s mock trial team.

“I was painfully, painfully shy,” she says. “I could not get up and do public speaking in front of an audience, but I joined the mock trial team because my mother urged me and pushed me to do so. I realized I loved researching and forming arguments and analyzing facts and the law. Most of all, I really loved being in court.”

Astorga finished her bachelor’s degree magna cum laude at New York University. Then, thanks in part to the MCCA scholar-ship, she earned her law degree at Cornell. As an undergraduate and law student, she took advantage of every internship opportu-nity available. Ultimately, she completed six internships, ranging from work in a real estate law office to a legal aid society to stints for Sen. Hilary Clinton and the attorney general’s office in Wash-ington, D.C.

“The MCCA scholarship opened up doors I never knew existed in the law,” she says. “It gave me an opportunity to work as an intern in a large firm (Astora Seneca) and to learn what the in-house legal function is like. Because of my other internships, I knew what my clients’ business was like, and I understood their

The MCCA scholarship opened up doors I never knew existed in the law.

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demands. The Astora Seneca internship gave me a big picture view of what practicing in a large firm would look like.”

After graduation, Astorga spent almost five years as an associate at Weil Gotshal and Manges. There, through her work with FAL-DEF, she became involved in Jose Antonio Vargas’ protracted immigration battle. The Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter and docu-mentarian made headlines when he wrote about growing up in the U.S. as an undocu-mented immigrant.

“The only difference between us was I have a piece of paper saying I’m an American citizen, and his sit-uation and struggle made me think of how much harder my life would be if I didn’t have that piece of paper,” Astorga says. “It could have very easily happened to me if my mom didn’t know better. When the story broke, I contacted him and said I wanted to work on his case directly. I got the firm to provide pro-bono assistance. For me, that was the most meaningful work I’ve done, helping someone with such a similar story to mine.”

At her current firm, Astorga is focusing on white-collar litiga-tion. Despite the pull she feels to help others with similar stories,

she enjoys corporate law and wants to balance the two different places in her life.

“What really impressed me about big law was the quality of attorneys that are out there,” she says. “I won-dered at the time if there were attorneys I could see my-self emulating five to 10 years from now, and I’ve found that in the two firms I’ve worked for and in the clerk-ships I’ve done. This work will only make me better.”

Now that she is settled in her job—and is the mother of a soon-to-be toddler—Astorga is thinking of ways she can continue to help those who are less fortunate. With her own money, she is starting a foundation in the Philippines for children of single mothers who are

interested in pursuing a law career.No matter where she goes, her mother’s advice sticks with her.

“When I think of the plight of all undocumented immigrants who wanted a better life in the United States, I can’t help but think of my mom telling me that I have to know the law and what to ex-pect here. I’ve been very, very fortunate to have her encouraging me to do that.” ■

GLENN COOK (glenncook117@gmail.com) is a freelance writer and photographer based in Northern Virginia.

The first recipients of the Minority Corporate Counsel Association’s LMJ Scholarship have gone on to varied careers in the corporate, government and nonprofit worlds.

Here is an update on the Class of 2005 and what they are doing now:■■ Heidy Abreu is corporate counsel at Sarepta Therapeutics Inc., in the Greater Boston area.

■■ Andrea Arias is an attorney at the Federal Trade Commission’s Division of Privacy and Identity Protection in Washington, D.C.

■■ Patricia Astorga is an associate in the New York office of Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy. She also is a board member on the Filipino American Legal Defense and Educational Fund.

■■ Theodore Bynum III is an associate in the Technology, Manufacturing and Transportation division of Husch Black-well in St. Louis.

■■ Martha Casillas is an attorney for the California Department of Industrial Rela-tions in the Greater Los Angeles area.

■■ Rosario Daza is a staff attorney for the Abriendo Puertas/Opening Doors Project at the Northwest Justice Project in Seattle.

■■ J. Steve Franco is an associate attorney with the Ratto Law Firm in Oakland, Calif.

■■ Tarik Gause is an associate in the Capital

Markets Group at Shearman & Sterling in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

■■ Maria E. Jones is corporate legal counsel at Oracle in San Francisco.

■■ Emily Liu is associate director and man-ager of diversity and inclusion at Emory Law School in Atlanta.

■■ Bendita Malakia is vice president and assistant general counsel at Goldman Sachs in Irving, Texas.

■■ Gerron McKnight is labor and employ-ment counsel at The Christ Hospital Health Network in Cincinnati.

■■ Brenda Pacouloute is an assistant public defender for the Broward Public Defender’s Office in the Miami/Fort Lauderdale area.

■■ Nathan Perez is managing director of Da-vid Taussig & Associates in San Jose, Calif.

■■ Timothy Reed is an associate attorney at Ogletree Deakins Nash Smoak & Stewart, PC in San Francisco.

■■ Samuel Roe is director of public policy and special initiatives for Citizen Schools in Washington, D.C. He also served as an innovation advisor and ConnectED fellow

at the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Educational Technology.

■■ Ebony Smith Sampson works as a bro-ker at Metro Commercial Real Estate in the Philadelphia area.

■■ Christy Bedonie died in September 2013 at age 39. A member of the Navajo Nation, she received her law degree from UCLA before representing tribal govern-ments at the firm of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld. She also worked on the staff of Rep. Brad Carson, the National Indian Gaming Commission and the Sen-ate Committee on Indian Affairs. She also previously served as an attorney with Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, where she represented tribal governments.

Details about the LMJ Scholarship Program can be found at www.mcca.com/scholarships. If you are interested in working with this or donating to this program, contact Aracely Muñoz Petrich, vice president of strategic development, at aracelymunozpetrich@mcca.com.

62 D I V E R S I T Y & T H E B A R NOV.DEC.2015 MCCA.COM

A wider lens on workplace law

www.constangy.com

Alabama • California • Colorado • Florida • Georgia • Illinois • MassachusettsMinnesota • Missouri • New Jersey • New York • North Carolina

South Carolina • Tennessee • Texas • Virginia

Q&A

Neil Wasser,Chair of the Executive Committee

Roving Reporter

Donald PropheteNewly Named Partner

Piyumi Samaratunga

Anjanette Cabrera Jim Goh

Q: Frank Constangy—passed away. What did he teach you that you use today in

A: My grandfather said you can tell a lot about people from the way they treat servers in a restaurant. Our lawyers treat each other, and our staff, with respect. Even when our clients aren’t looking.

Q: th anniversary. Anything new going on?

A: Lots. We’ve added a new name to our door. Just upgraded to Microsoft 8.1,

“They were so good at parenting. I look back at a childhood that was happy, though there were unpleas-ant experiences like the IV drip and surgery.”

Diagnosed with cancer of the retina in infancy, the likelihood that he would even become an adult appeared remote. Through-

out his childhood, he endured chemotherapy and radiation, three times his cancer reemerg-ing. He had lost sight in his left eye in infancy, and at age eight it was necessary to remove both retinas in order to prevent the cancer’s spread.

“The doctors at Johns Hopkins protracted my eyesight as long as they could,” he says.

Yet, the son of Iranian immi-grants has become the first and only American of Iranian descent to be elected to state office: in 2012

as a state representative and in 2014 as a senator.

“I tend to be an optimist. Know-ing I would eventually be blind, I got acclimated to it,” he says, “starting with reading large print and in second grade, braille. If you have to lose your eyesight, eight was still young enough so that you

can adapt quickly. But it built up a catalogue of visual memories. I like to joke that all my visual memo-ries are from the 1980s, so for me everyone still looks like Boy George and Cyndi Lauper.”

Habib’s parents came to the U.S. during the 1970s, first his fa-ther as a student in 1970. Later, his dad married the senator’s mother in Paris, and they moved perma-nently to the U.S. in 1979 after the Ayatollah Khomeini took control in Iran and a rigid theocracy be-came the order of life.

“My dad worked for an Amer-ican company as a contractor and was going back and forth,” Habib says. “His younger sister is my mom’s best friend, and they started dating in the late 1970s. The revolution broke out, and my mom finished her degree and left and went to Paris.”

Both his parents are highly educated: his father, an engineer, and his mother, a superior court judge. His mother encouraged his independence. An incident in grade school is illustrative. He wanted to play on the jungle gym, but his teacher objected because she thought it unsafe. So, his mother wrote the teacher, giving him permission.

“That was a lesson I learned from my mom,” he says. “There are a lot of exclusionary practices that people do out of compassion, so what happens is that people are excluded, though not intentionally. Each of us faces obstacles, and we have to be creative and work hard to overcome them. Almost any-thing can be done if we are creative and have enough ingenuity.”

Habib’s parents continually challenged him, sending him to a school for the gifted and talented in fourth and fifth grade.

“I have a naturally competitive streak so that gave me the motiva-tion to do well.”

In sixth grade he was sent to Bellevue International School, which he attended through high school. Considered among the na-tion’s top secondary schools today, it was only in its second year when

P R O F I L E I N P E R S EV E R A N C E | BY TOM CALARCO

For attorney Cyrus Habib, visibility is central to our sense of identification. To shed light on the problems we face in American society and to do what is needed to solve them has become the focus of his life. The 33-year-old Wash-ington state senator, blind since the age of eight, is a man on the move. From Columbia to Oxford to Yale, and now in Bellevue, Wash., his story is an im-probable one. He credits much of his success to his parents.

“If you have to lose your eyesight, eight was still young enough so that you can adapt quickly. But it built up a catalogue of visual memories. I like to joke that all my visual memories are from the 1980s, so for me everyone still looks like Boy George and Cyndi Lauper.”

Senator Cyrus Habib: Illuminating the Darkness

64 D I V E R S I T Y & T H E B A R NOV.DEC.2015 MCCA.COM

Habib started there.“I was in the second graduat-

ing class,” he said of the innova-tive school where there was no principal, no electives, smaller classes, student involvement in the curriculum and longer class times. “The gym teacher was the French teacher, and you took one foreign language all your years and the final year, you took your other courses in that language, and both teachers and parents were involved.”

Habib says he had “two or three life-altering teachers” at Bellevue and developed his love for literature and political science there. Outside of school his parents continued to cultivate his indepen-dence. In addition to taking karate and piano lessons, he went down-hill skiing with his father.

“My dad would take me up and

direct me from behind, describing the slope,” he says, “telling me, left, right, left, right, cliff …”

Fortunately, Habib managed to avoid falling off one.

His involvement in politics be-gan in college at Columbia Univer-sity in New York City.

“I ran for student government and lost twice.”

He wasn’t about to give up, so he applied for an internship with then-newly elected Washington Sen. Maria Cantwell.

“I wanted to work on the Hill, so I applied with Sen. Cantwell and was accepted and loved the energy. It was right before 9-11.”

Habib had gotten to know people on Hillary Clinton’s staff during his summer D.C. internship and when he returned to school, he obtained an internship in Clinton’s New York office.

“The first day was September 14, 2001,” he says of that chaotic time when they were overwhelmed with requests for help to get back electricity, garbage collection and other essential services. “Being a part of what we were doing on the constituent’s side, helping people in this serious time of need, was really powerful. And because of things like the anthrax scare, it didn’t seem totally safe, but it was a high-adrenalin experience and a great lesson in how you can make a difference.”

The course of Habib’s life had become forged.

“I applied and won a Truman scholarship,” he says of his final year at Columbia. “It’s a public service scholarship, and I got to go to Missouri for a week. That’s where I learned about the Rhodes Scholarship, but I never thought I’d be remotely competitive for it.”

He was wrong.At Oxford, Habib studied lit-

erature and did his thesis on a com-parison of the novels Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison and Satanic Verses by Salmon Rushdie.

“Invisible Man is about immi-gration from the South of a black man into the metropolis of New York City,” he says. “In Satanic Verses, the character comes to London to a ghettoized setting. Both portray the link between invisibility and identity. It got me thinking how central vision is to our sense of our identity, tracing back to God’s first words in the Old Testament, ‘Let there be light,’ and Plato, in the story about exiting the cave and the enlightenment that occurred. I saw how our lives are

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tied to visuality, how race ties into visuality, how living in the shadows closes off groups.”

Following his experience at Oxford, where he met young schol-ars from around the world and traveled to about 50 countries, he entered law school at Yale.

“A magical place,” he says, “so focused on public service and the idea of making the world a better place really carried through.”

During his summer break, he returned home to help his mother with her campaign for superior

court judge. He also managed to obtain a temporary position at Perkins Coie, the leading law firm in the state of Washington.

“I loved it,” he says of the firm located in the heart of the IT world. “I did advanced legal work on technology matters for Microsoft, Google and Facebook and worked on the case of Salim Ahmed Hamdan, the driver for Osama Bin Laden, to ensure that the government used due process in prosecuting him.”

After law school, Habib decided to move back home.

“I wanted to be part of the com-munity and couldn’t do that in New York. It was too big.”

He joined the firm of Perkins Coie, a great choice for a budding

politician considering it’s one of the nation’s top political law firms and the counsel of record for the Demo-cratic National Committee. Clients have included Barack Obama and John Kerry and most recently, Hil-lary Clinton.

“I moved back to Bellevue where I grew up, on the east side of Lake Washington in 2009,” he says. “Here in the Seattle area, Micro-soft, T-Mobile, Expedia are close by. Here is a place where amazing things are going on, and there is so much energy.”

He also saw political opportuni-ty because of an aging leadership in the Democratic Party there.

“I got involved with Rotary and was appointed human services commissioner,” he says. “Then in 2012, one of the state representa-tives decided that she was going to retire. So I started to position myself and gathered a good group of advisors and won that race.”

By a significant majority, incidentally.

“Two years later, the Senate ma-jority leader decided not to run,” he says of Rodney Tom, who had disaffected the party by caucusing with the Republicans. Habib ran for his Senate seat and won by an even bigger margin than in 2012.

Shortly after, he was appointed Democratic Whip, becoming at age 33, a leading member of the Democratic Party in the state of Washington.

“I believe there are three fundamental challenges we face,” he says. “The opportunity gap in education and employment; income inequality, which is a result of the opportunity gap; and climate change.”

Habib’s future plans are un-known, but he doesn’t see himself as a state senator for the next 30 years.

“I’m still very young and un-likely to be in the state senate for 30 years. My job is to do a good job today for my constituents, and I’m sure that, if I do, I’ll be ready for whatever opportunity comes next. Right now, I want to address those three challenges while I’m a senator. If I do a good job, then I’ll focus on the next step.”

Those steps don’t involve the use of a guide dog but a cane. More important for him is Uber, the ride-hailing service that that works through a phone app.

“I’m so busy I need to get around quickly,” Habib says of his three jobs, as senator, community relations liaison for Perkins Coie, and professor at Seattle University Law School. “I wouldn’t want to impose my lifestyle on a pet.”

Speaking of pets, one of his pet projects, making U.S. paper money identifiable for the visually impaired has finally gotten through litigation and is on the future agen-da of the U.S. Treasury, which had been blocking its implementation. Back in 2007, Habib had begun lobbying to make U.S. money “visi-ble” to those who couldn’t see, like it is in all of the major industrial nations. “Show me the money,” he wrote in an op-ed in the Washing-ton Post in support of a request to the Treasury Department by U.S. District Judge James Robertson. Recently, the Treasury Department announced that the $10 bill will be modified to make it accessible to the blind.

Habib is a man on the move, and it looks like the only direction he’s heading is up, a place where he will continue to shine light where before there had been darkness. ■

TOM CALARCO (tomcalwriter@yahoo.com) based in Loveland, Ohio, is a freelance writer and author of seven books on the Underground Railroad.

One of his pet projects, making U.S. paper money identifiable for the visually impaired has finally gotten through litigation and is on the future agenda of the U.S. Treasury, which had been blocking its implementation.

66 D I V E R S I T Y & T H E B A R NOV.DEC.2015 MCCA.COM

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BOOKER T. EVANS, JR.Ballard Spahr

Booker T. Evans Jr., a prominent white collar criminal defense attor-ney and commercial litigator with more than 25 years of experience defending multimil-lion-dollar cases for businesses and individ-uals, has joined Ballard

Spahr as a partner in Phoenix. Evans was chief deputy district attorney in Las

Vegas and an assistant U.S. attorney in Nevada and Arizona before entering private practice. He currently serves as judge pro tem for the Maricopa County Supe-rior Court.

Evans has broad civil and criminal trial experience and handles post-conviction matters involving the federal courts and their sentencing guidelines. He is well-known for his work in white collar criminal de-fense, RICO cases, product liability, insurance matters and health law.

He also has tried cases involving tax evasion, dis-putes over real estate holdings, copyright and trade-mark infringement, criminal bankruptcy fraud and civil forfeiture. Evans is co-chair for the 2015 Arizona State Bar Convention and is the co-founder of the Las Vegas Chapter of the National Bar Association. He is licensed to practice in Arizona and Nevada.

ALEX G. ROMAINWilliams & Connolly LLP

Williams & Connolly LLP partner Alex G. Ro-main has been selected to Savoy Magazine’s 2015 list of “Most Infl uential Black Lawyers.” The list is comprised of leading black lawyers that are partners within top na-tional law fi rms and also corporate counsel from

Fortune® 1000 corporations. Savoy’s listing contains an infl uential cross-section of legal professionals repre-senting a diverse range of practices with national and global responsibilities.

Romain is recognized in Savoy for his litigation work in high-profi le civil and criminal cases, includ-ing the successful defense of Sen. Ted Stevens against ethics charges and of the former CEO of Fannie Mae against securities fraud claims. He has also represent-ed individuals on a pro bono basis in allegations of attempted murder and fraudulent misappropriation. Born and raised in Boston, Romain holds a bachelor’s degree from Yale College and a JD from the University of Michigan Law School. He has been a partner at the fi rm since January 2007.

MOVERS & SHAKERS

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GEORGE APOSTOLIDESArnstein & Lehr LLP

Arnstein & Lehr LLP recently appoint-ed partner George Apostolides to chair its Chicago Litiga-tion Practice Group. He joined the fi rm upon graduation from Northwestern University School of

Law in 1995. He focuses his practice on business and bankruptcy litigation, regularly handling matters in Illinois’ state and federal courts at both the trial and appellate levels. His clients range from Fortune® 500 companies to small businesses and individuals. Apos-tolides is a member of the American Bar Association sections of business law and litigation, as well as the Illinois State, Chicago and Hellenic bar associations. He is a regular panelist at seminars sponsored by the National Business Institute. He earned his JD from Northwestern University School of Law and grad-uated magna cum laude with an AB from Princeton University.

AHSAKI BAPTISTWyatt Tarrant & Combs LLP

Ahsaki Baptist, a partner with Wyatt Tarrant & Combs LLP, has been chosen to lead the Tennessee Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Division from 2017 to 2018. Baptist will

become the fi rst African-American woman to lead the state’s Young Lawyers Division following a year as the division’s vice president beginning this June. Baptist will serve as president-elect of the Young Lawyers Division for a year before becoming president in June 2017. Baptist has been active in the TBA’s Young Lawyers Division since 2008, serving as the liaison from the Lawyers Association for Women and chair-man of the TBA’s Diversity Committee. Under her leadership, the Young Lawyers Division developed its award-winning Diversity Leadership Institute.

Baptist concentrates her practice in the areas of commercial litigation and commercial real estate and represents national and international clients in general corporate and commercial matters, including drafting and negotiating commercial agreements and litigation. She received her law degree from the Uni-versity of Mississippi School of Law and her under-graduate degree from Spelman College.

MOVERS & SHAKERS

MCCA.COM NOV.DEC.2015 D I V E R S I T Y & T H E B A R 69

For membership information, contact David Chu, MCCA’s Vice President of Membership & Development, at 202-739-5906 or membership@mcca.com.

3M CompanyAARPAbercrombie & FitchAbstoneLalley Inc.Accenture LLPAECOMAllstate Insurance CompanyAltria Client ServicesAmerican AirlinesAmerican Express CompanyAnthem Inc. AON CorporationAT&T CorporationAvis Budget GroupBechtel CorporationBecton, Dickinson and CompanyBNY MellonBooz Allen HamiltonBP America Inc.Bristol-Myers Squibb Company CALIBR, global leadership networkCapital Legal Solutions LLCCapital One Financial CorporationCargill Inc. Carter’s Inc.Catalent Pharma SolutionsCBS CorporationCH2M HillChevron CorporationChoice Hotels International Inc.CIGNA Corporation CITGO Petroleum CorporationColgate-Palmolive CompanyCompass Group, The AmericasConAgra Foods Inc.ConocoPhillipsCox Communications Inc.Crawford & CompanyDarden Restaurants Inc.DC Water and Sewer AuthorityDeere & CompanyDell Inc.Detroit Employment Solutions CorporationDHL AmericaDiageo North America Inc.

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Quest Diagnostics Incorporated

RBS Americas

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Scripps Networks Interactive Inc.

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Synopsys Inc.

Target Corporation

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The Conference Board Inc.

The Vanguard Group Inc.

The Walt Disney Company

The Williams Companies Inc.

TIAA-CREF

Tyson Foods Inc.

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United Parcel Service

United Services Automobile Association “USAA”

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Xcel Energy

Xerox Corporation

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M C CA® LAW D E PA RT M E N T M E M B E R S

The Minority Corporate Counsel Association (MCCA) acknowledges the support of the following law departments whose financial contributions have helped to advance the goal of furthering diversity in the legal profession.

70 D I V E R S I T Y & T H E B A R NOV.DEC.2015 MCCA.COM

MCCA® acknowledges the following law firms who have joined MCCA to further advance diversity in the legal profession.

Potential FANs should contact David Chu, MCCA’s Vice President of Membership & Development,at 202-739-5906 or membership@mcca.com.

Alchemy-Partners PCAlexander & AssociatesAlvarez Arrieta & Diaz-Silveira LLPAnderson Kill PCArcher & Greiner PCArent Fox LLPArnstein & Lehr LLPArrastia & Capote LLPAxiomBaldassare & Mara LLCBerger Singerman LLPBeveridge & Diamond PCBlank Rome LLPBond Schoeneck & King PLLCBressler Amery & Ross PCBricker & Eckler LLPBrown Law GroupBuchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PCButler Snow LLPCalfee Halter & Griswold LLPCavitch Familo & Durkin Co. LPACohen & Gresser LLPConstangy Brooks Smith & Prophete LLPCooley LLPCottrell Solensky & Semple PACourington Kiefer & Sommers LLCCowles & Thompson PCCozen O’ConnorCrumbie Law Group LLCDavis & Gilbert LLPDeMahy Labrador Drake Victor & Cabeza (DLD Lawyers)Dickstein Shapiro LLPDrinker Biddle & Reath LLPDuane Morris LLPDunlap CoddingElliott GreenleafEpstein Becker & Green PCFinnegan Henderson Farabow Garrett & Dunner LLPFish & Richardson PCFisher & Phillips LLPFitzpatrick Cella Harper & ScintoFlorio Perrucci Steinhardt & Fader LLCForman Watkins Krutz & Tardy LLPGaff ney Lewis & Edwards LLCGibbsWhitwell PLLCGoldberg Segalla LLP

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Seeley Savidge Ebert & Gourash Co. LPA

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The Willis Law Group

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Winston & Strawn LLP

Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, LLP

Wong Fleming P

Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor LLP

Zuber Lawler & Del Duca LLP

Zupkus & Angell PC

M C CA® LAW F I R M A F F I L I AT E S

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