…be authentic and self-aware…
Cari Dawson Alston & Bird’s Class Action Practice Chair Wins Cases and Honors across the US A creative problem solver, legal strategist, and committed advocate, Cari Dawson serves as chair of Alston & Bird’s Class Action practice, where she has successfully defended Fortune 500 companies as lead counsel in highprofile enterprise litigation throughout the United States. She has defended hundreds of class actions across an array of industries and regularly assists clients in the areas of commercial litigation, strategic counseling, and crisis management. As co-chair of Alston & Bird’s Diversity Committee, Cari has played a leading role in championing diversity and inclusion within the firm and its communities. Her efforts, which include mentoring, advocating for, and sponsoring associates, have helped enhance the
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firm’s workplace diversity and resulted in significant marketplace recognition, such as its recent inclusion on FORTUNE’s “100 Best Companies to Work For™” list for 2015 (making Alston & Bird the first and only law firm to earn this distinction for 16 consecutive years). She also serves on the Executive Committee of the Commercial Law Section of the National Bar Association, is active in Corporate Counsel Women of Color, and participates in a variety of diverse bar organizations nationwide. “Being a woman in my profession has been both a challenge and a benefit.” Cari said. “The number of black women partners at Am Law 100 law firms remains less than 2 percent, and unconscious bias impacts
PROFILES IN DIVERSITY JOURNAL Summer 2015
adversely the advancement of women of color in the legal profession. But I strongly believe many attributes I have, often characterized as “female” attributes, make me a more effective attorney.” Cari was selected as one of the country’s “Most Influential Black Lawyers” by Savoy Magazine in 2015, and recognized as one of the “100 Most Influential Lawyers in America” by The National Law Journal in 2013. She was also recognized as one of the country’s “Most Powerful & Influential Women” by the National Diversity Council in 2014, honored as 2012 “Corporate Counsel of the Year” by the John M. Langston Bar Association, and named to the “45 Under 45” list of remarkable women lawyers by The American Lawyer in 2011. PDJ