THE BAR
NOV/DEC.2016
DIVERSITY
&
MCCA Empowering People. Inspiring Leadership.
MCCA’s th 17 Annual GC Survey Breaking Barriers, One Person at a Time
Can Hobbies Improve Your Legal Practice? Changing Law Firm Diversity by Examining Operations How Data Can Increase Law Firm Diversity Where are the Lawyers from the LMJ Class of 2010?
CONTENTS
Visit www.mcca.com for the latest information on our events, awards and research.
FEATURES
16 MCCA's 17
Annual General Counsel Survey th
By Lydia Lum MCCA 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 report, writer Patrick Folliard has profiled four
general counsel on our list.
36 Legal Minds En Pointe
By Lydia Lum Can interests and hobbies beyond your day job sharpen your legal skills? Meet lawyers who believe that the time they spend on personal pursuits improve their legal practice.
39 LMJ Class of 2010
By Glenn Cook The sixth installment of our series provides you with a class update and a personal story about what happened to an LMJ scholar after law school.
42 Law Firm Diversity and Inclusion
To Change How Law Firms Operate Regarding Diversity, Look at How They Run Operations By Marin Ervin & Mark Roellig The purchasers of legal services have begun to inspect the actual results of diversity activities conducted by a law firm as a whole. How can your law firm compete?
46 Substantive Work
Assessments: A Databased Tool to Increase Retention at Your Legal Organization
By Bendita Cynthia Malakia Success for attorneys is typically the result of a mix of luck, fit, individual strategy and access to key clients and premium work assignments. How can you discern whether your diverse legal professionals have equal access to these factors?
50 Achieving Diverse Outside Counsel Teams
By Stephanie A. Scharf and N. Nate Saint Victor with Antonio C. Castro Is there a way for general counsel to have the best of both worlds—the confidence that their most complex matters have all of the benefits of diverse legal teams and the safety net that comes from using large firms well known to senior executives and corporate boards?
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NOV.DEC.2016
MCCA® BOARD OF DIRECTORS Michelle Banks
MCCA Board Chair, Fmr. Executive Vice President & Global General Counsel, Gap Inc.
Jean Lee
COLUMNS 4 | NOTES FROM THE CEO
LMJ Scholarship Fund: Helping to Change the Future Fortune® 1000 List Jean Lee
6 | INSIDE OUT
Top 10 Things to Do to Get a New In-House Job in 2017 Sonya Olds Som
9 | BRANDING CAPTAIN
3 Lessons from the Marine Corps to Build a Stronger Brand in Your Legal Career Mamie Joeveer
14 | LITIGATION MATTERS
If I Knew Then.... By Craig A. Thompson, Esq.
President & CEO, MCCA
A.B. Cruz III
Senior Vice President, Chief Legal Office, USAA Enterprise Shared Services
Simone Wu
Immediate Past MCCA Chair, Senior Vice President, General Counsel, Corporate Secretary & Chief Compliance Officer, Choice Hotels International, Inc.
Stuart Alderoty
Executive Vice President, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary, CIT Group Inc.
Ricardo A. Anzaldua
Executive Vice President & General Counsel, MetLife, Inc.
Damien Atkins
Janice P. Brown Owner & Founder, Brown Law Group
Clarissa Cerda General Counsel, Pindrop Security
Duane Holloway
Senior Vice President & General Counsel, Ascena Retail Group, Inc.
48 | PROFILES IN PERSEVERANCE Ollie Cantos: A Man with Extraordinary Vision Tom Calarco
50 | DIVERSITY NEWS
Upstanders@Weil: Leading the Way in Law Diversity & Inclusion Meredith Moore
52 | MOVERS & SHAKERS
Kenneth S. Siegel
Chief Administrative Officer & General Counsel, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.
Dawn Smith
Sandra Leung
Senior Vice President, Chief Legal Officer, Chief Compliance Officer & Secretary, VMware
Linda Lu
Mary E. Snapp
Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Bristol-Myers Squibb Senior Vice President, Chief Litigation Officer & Employment Counseling, Nationwide Insurance
H. Gwen Marcus
Executive Vice President & General Counsel, Showtime Networks, Inc.
Suzan A. Miller
Corporate Vice President, Deputy General Counsel, & Corporate Secretary, Intel Corporation
Corporate Vice President, Microsoft Philanthropies
Richard J. Wallis
Vice President/Deputy General Counsel, Office Product Group, Microsoft
Neil H. Wilcox
Senior Vice President & Associate General Counsel, First Data Corporation
Michael T. Williams
Executive Vice President General Counsel, and Secretary, Staples, Inc.
President & CEO
Design/Art Direction
MCCA® Staff
Editor-in-Chief
Advertising
PUBLICATIONS STAFF Jean Lee
Senior Vice President & General Counsel, Walmart International Legal
BonoTom Studio Inc.
Kimberly A. Howard, CAE
DEPARTMENTS Michele Roberts Lydia Lum
Vice President, Chief Compliance Officer, Cox Communications, Inc.
Samuel M. Reeves
General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, Panasonic Corp. of North America
Kimberly A. Howard, CAE
10 | SPOTLIGHTING
Robin H. Sangston
Elizabeth Allard Mahzarine Chinoy Charles H. Hollins Jr. Sophia Piliouras Andrea Pimm Kevin Wong
GENERAL INFORMATION Advertising For advertising inquiries, contact
Kimberly A. Howard, CAE
at kimhoward@mcca.com. MCCA® Membership Please visit www.mcca.com/ membership for details. General Information and Address Changes Send 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 Reprints Reproduction 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.
Copyright Copyright® 2016 by the Minority Corporate 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 information. Use of such information on the readers’ part is entirely voluntary, and reliance upon it should be undertaken only upon independent review and due diligence. References to any commercial product, process or service 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 violation of property, privacy or personal rights of others. MCCA is not responsible 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 implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular use or purpose, are made by MCCA with respect to such information. Copyright in this publication, including all articles and editorial information 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.
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NOTES FROM THE CEO BY JEAN LEE
LMJ Scholarship Fund: Helping to Change the Future Fortune® 1000 List If you have not participated in the General Counsel Summit (GCS), please mark your calendars for April 19-22, 2017. The General Counsel Summit is a three-day educational conference that provides innovative continuing legal education programs focusing on leadership and practical skills development. It provides opportunities for thought leaders to share their best practices, partner with MCCA to develop a strong pipeline and promote diverse talent while building their peer network in intimate settings. Details of our 2016 GCS can be found at www.mcca.com/gcs. At this event, MCCA will host the Bidding Battle once again to raise funds for the LMJ Scholarship Fund. To further expand our fundraising reach, we recently created a donor drive and made online donations easy. We’ve made it simple to donate. Please help us diversify the legal profession by helping diverse law students fund their education. Read testimonials from previous LMJ scholars and how the funds supported them through law school and with their career path. They are the next generation and our future chief legal officers. You can make donations at http://ow.ly/ jfk9306ouvF and you can find details about the LMJ Scholarship at www.mcca.com/scholarships. We hope you will have an opportunity to meet them at GCS and/ or continue to support their professional development by speaking. This issue’s cover story, “Breaking Barriers, One Person at a Time” chronicles a few diverse counsel
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who just happen to be the chief legal officer of their company. The article also provides the details of the 17th Annual MCCA General Counsel Survey. Whether it’s a lack of sponsorship, succession planning, promotions or the pool of diverse candidates, women and minority general counsel are still scarce on the Fortune® 1000 list. And, as our author of this story puts it: “Nothing indicates the 5-to-1 gap in hiring, promotion and representation will disappear soon.” Find out who is on the list of women and counselors of color in the top lawyer spot for many national and international companies and what this year’s analysis tells us about the trends. Thank you for your continued support. We have some special things in store for 2017 as we celebrate our 20th anniversary and hope to see you at our upcoming events. ■ MCCA_law
www.facebook.com/mcca.law
INSIDE OUT BY SONYA OLDS SOM
Top 10 Things to Do to Get a New In-house Job in 2017 When I was a teenager, and into my 20s, I could see a “Help Wanted” sign in a store window, apply and be hired for that position the same day—maybe even start working that day. It was a simpler time, generally, and the stakes were much lower for me as a candidate and for the stores as employers. My deciding whether to sell books or clothes to pay my way through college and law school and the stores deciding whether to hire me to do it was not a huge, risky decision on either side. The older you get, however, the more advanced in your career, the longer the process takes to secure a new position—or, at least, the longer it should take. Both sides are more sophisticated, capable of much greater discernment, with a lot more require-
For GC/CLO and other senior in-house roles, especially at larger, more sophisticated companies, it takes time to find the right match and seal the deal to both sides’ satisfaction—I liken it to catching lightning in a bottle. So many stakeholders (professionally
For GC/CLO and other senior in-house roles, especially at larger, more sophisticated companies, it takes time to find the right match and seal the deal to both sides’ satisfaction—I liken it to catching lightning in a bottle. ments for a desirable match. The stakes are much higher for both employer and employee. A bad match, while not fatal, is certainly more costly for all involved, literally and figuratively. As a GC/in-house recruiter, I consistently advise candidates for in-house positions—especially for GC/CLO level and other senior-level positions—to build in some time for their job search. You are unlikely to see a sign in a store window and start a new in-house job the same day—at least, probably not any job that you would want at this stage of your career.
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and personally) have to weigh in, so many things have to come together—timing, skill set, EQ (emotional intelligence), cultural fit, compensation, location and personal life considerations— that I am frankly always a little amazed that anyone ever ends up in a new job! It is certainly possible to decide on a Monday that you would like a new in-house job and start that new job within a few days or weeks. I mean, anything is possible. It’s just not likely. A lot of things
would have to come together like clockwork, and there would be more than a little luck involved. And it’s probably not the best professional or personal strategy to have your career and livelihood depend on luck. So, if you want to do all that you can to make sure that you are in a new job by the end of 2017, you should start now. Here is my Top 10 Things to Do to Get a New InHouse Job in 2017: 1. Decide What You Want to Do, Where You Want to Be and Make a Plan. This is kind of self-explanatory but worth noting. Like every other accomplishment in your educational and professional life, getting your next great job requires a plan! You didn’t pass the bar exam by accident and you likely won’t get a great, new in-house job that way, either. Consider investing in working with a career/executive coach to help make sure you are on the right track. 2. Update Your Resume and LinkedIn Profile. This is also not rocket science but part of making a plan is being prepared! And a tight resume that is consistent with your up-todate, fully optimized LinkedIn profile is critical to your preparation. Consider investing in a professional resume/profile writer to make sure that you and your brand are showcased to best advantage.
3. Review Your Professional Connections and Add to Them. It’s not entirely true that “It’s not what you know but who you know,” but it certainly feels true! That’s because the people in your network can share valuable information, tips, referrals, introductions, etc., with you. Get strategic about making lists and using LinkedIn to get your arms around the many school, professional and association connections with whom you should stay in touch (or with whom you should get back in touch). Make sure they know that you want to be a resource to them just as much as you would like them to be a resource for you. 4. Connect and Reconnect with Former Colleagues, Classmates, Opposing Counsel, Fellow In-house Counsel, Law Firm Partners, Board Directors and Other Members of the C-Suite. Having gotten your arms around who is in your network, make it a point to connect and reconnect with them online (ahem, LinkedIn again! but also Facebook), via email and in person one-on-one and at events. Out of sight means out of mind. And we’re all trying to juggle so many relationships with so little time! Be strategic about the relationships you want to make sure don’t die on the vine and smart about the various means that you can use to keep
them alive. You never know where the next great opportunity is going to come from. 5. Identify Appropriate Job Boards. In addition to keeping a regular eye on the job postings on the MCCA’s website (www.mcca.com) and my firm’s website (www.mlaglobal.com), I recommend that you view the postings on other recruiting firms’ websites as well as the postings on websites such as the following ( just to name a few): ■■ACC.com ■■Goinhouse.com ■■Indeed.com ■■SimplyHired.com ■■Lawjobs.com ■■LinkedIn.com Rather than just hitting “apply” to postings (risking falling into a black hole), take a step back and use the postings you see as a jumping off point for reaching out to connections
good word for you which gives you a competitive advantage over other applicants. 6. Connect with Appropriate Search Firms. It’s important to try to cultivate relationships with search firms (not just mine) because when we know you, and like you we think of you and advocate on your behalf again and again throughout your career. Plus, some of our searches are confidential and not posted anywhere. We need to know you to call you! 7. Attend Conferences, (Co)Author Articles, Speak on Panels. These activities, strategically chosen, increase your education/skills, get you CLE credits, increase and strengthen your network of like-minded professionals and build your brand! You don’t have to do everything, but you should plan to do a few things that make sense.
Be strategic about the relationships you want to make sure don’t die on the vine and smart about the various means that you can use to keep them alive. You never know where the next great opportunity is going to come from. within the company (or with the search firm that is handling the search if a search firm has been retained) or outside counsel representing the company. These connections can give you vital information to make you a stronger applicant (or explain to you why you wouldn’t be a viable candidate), and, of course, they might also put in a
8. Strategically Use and Post on Social Media. Here’s where I talk more about LinkedIn. It’s a MUST. I highly recommend that you routinely update and flesh out your LinkedIn profile—including a professional picture—with as many background details and skills as possible. Consider adding a connected Twitter account at
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some point specifically dedicated to business as opposed to a separate, personal Twitter account—both are great sources of gathering and disseminating relationships and information. Remember, LinkedIn is a searchable database and the more information you put into it, the more likely and easily you can be located. You should also be joining as many LinkedIn groups as possible that relate to your background and interests and connecting with as many people that you know (and the people that they know) as possible as well (especially fellow school alums, former colleagues, HR people, industry connections and senior law firm and corporate lawyers). Also, consider seeking LinkedIn recommen-
so are YOU), and I am certainly not suggesting that you start posting updates every day. However, you should occasionally post things strategically (like articles you are writing or reading and presentations you are making or attending, interesting changes to the law in areas in which you practice, etc.) to make sure you and your profile stay top-of-mind amongst your connections and their connections. Most importantly, the profile itself should be treated as a living text, always updated and vibrant, existing as a stand-alone, great representation of who you are— like a resume/interview/elevator pitch/RFP response that is accessible 24/7 by anyone who sees it (especially potential employers/potential connectors).
I know it doesn’t always come naturally for us as lawyers, but developing business and financial knowledge and acumen is critical. You need to be able to “talk shop” with professionals who are not lawyers. dations/endorsements from people with whom you have worked (and offering them in return—ALWAYS remember that it is a two-way street. Focus on the “give” and the “get” will follow). I do a lot of status update posting on LinkedIn because I am in a highly business development-related function in a highly business development-focused company (although, come to think of it, in terms of generating employment opportunities for yourself,
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9. Keep Your Eyes on the Business Journals: Gotta watch the hot sheets! Yes, read the law journals and legal periodicals, but read the Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times and the trade and business journals, too. I know it doesn’t always come naturally for us as lawyers, but developing business and financial knowledge and acumen is critical. You need to be able to “talk shop” with professionals who are not lawyers. Also, you can “read the tea leaves” and note that a company is expanding
into a certain area or certain geography which may, eventually, lead to them wanting to hire a lawyer with your skill set. You can then start building relationships accordingly. This is a long-term play, to be sure, but can ultimately prove to be a rewarding one. 10. Pace Yourself, Be Positive, Be Patient: Also self-explanatory but worth noting! Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither was your career up until this point. You don’t have to do all of these things tomorrow! Try to do at least a little something every day (spend some time on LinkedIn, schedule a lunch, work on an article, etc.), carve out some time when you are going to focus on various parts of your plan. You’ll feel better about your current situation because you know you are actively working every day to improve it. Stay positive and engaged. Invest in your physical and emotional/spiritual well-being so that when the right opportunity comes along—and it will— you will be ready for it and present your best self. ■ SONYA SOM (ssom@ mlaglobal.com ) is a partner in Major, Lindsey & Africa’s Chicago office and focuses on strategizing and leading networking, business development and marketing initiatives for MLA’s In-House Practice Group recruiting team throughout the Midwest, with a special emphasis on diversity. You can follow her on Twitter @sonyaoldssom and connect with her via LinkedIn www.linkedin. com/in/sonyasom.
BRANDING CAPTAIN BY MAMIE JOEVEER
3 Lessons from the Marine Corps to Build a Stronger Brand in Your Legal Career UNDERSTANDING THE VALUE YOU BRING to your craft as a lawyer may be hard to define at times, especially as a junior attorney. It’s this understanding; however, that puts you on the path to reaching higher levels in your career. It’s also the foundation of building and raising a profile. At some point in everyone’s legal career, lifting your head out of the books and opening the door to go outside and interact with the world outside will become vital to career longevity. At this point, you must be able to clearly say, “Here I am, and this is what I do.” Why is that so challenging and why is that necessary? Some may argue it’s best to start out generally and then build to a niche. I disagree. A narrow focus and a clear definition of yourself and your capabilities are essential to building a strong personal brand. This can help to build stronger connections, both internally in your organization or law firm and externally.
Creating a Strong Mindset
I began my career as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps. I graduated from the University of Memphis in Tennessee and quickly changed my focus to becoming a leader of Marines. There was a shared philosophy in the Marines and a common understanding of how to operate, how to accomplish the mission, and how to conduct ourselves. We knew what the word Marine stood for and the characteristics and values it entailed. I remember going thru
Officer’s Candidate School (OCS) at Quantico, Va. OCS was my first introduction into chaos, stress, and the constant battle with self-talk. The day I finally graduated and was able to call myself a Marine was a proud moment. I had a clear and unshakeable sense of self.
Projecting with Confidence
This unshakeable sense of self was a philosophy that guided and helped me rise in the ranks within the Marines. I finally became a captain. When anyone asked what I did for a living, I could tell them with ease about my role, and my capabilities. Projecting with confidence was not only a good feeling for me, but it was something the receiver could relate to, understand, and more importantly translate again to someone else. They could get the story right when they decided to talk about me. Transitioning from the military and eventually the law, I had to redefine myself. I was able to start from the same foundation that helped shaped me when I was in the Marines.
Forming A Clear Path
With a clear defined sense of self, as a junior attorney rising the ranks, you can build a clear path early on of where you want to go and how you want to be perceived. There are many directions and practice areas to try to master, but how will you be remembered? Forming a clear path will help you make better choices in business development activities.
With a clear defined sense of self, as a junior attorney rising the ranks, you can build a clear path early on of where you want to go and how you want to be perceived. You will be able to decide what panels to be a part of, what professional and community groups to join, and how to shape social media in a way that is not scattered. It can also help you think quickly on your feet and recognize and ask for opportunities that fit with who you are. A strong sense of self is where it all begins. ■ MAMIE JOEVEER (mamie.joeveer@ hoganlovells.com) began her career as a captain in the United States Marine Corps. She transitioned from the Marines and became a journalist for national news outlets. She is now a litigation attorney and also supports practice group business development efforts. She also serves on the Board of Directors for the Miami City Ballet.
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SPOTLIGHTING BY LYDIA LUM
A Courtside Ally
Career Trial Lawyer is Changing the Face of Men’s Basketball AS A PUBLIC DEFENDER, Michele Roberts fought for clients who might have been convicted and sentenced to prison if not for her tenacity. In private practice, Roberts tackled matters that attracted as many news headlines as her murder cases did.
Michele Roberts traded in her career as a pre-eminent litigation partner in Big Law to become executive director of the National Basketball Players Association. A childhood fan of the New York Knicks, Roberts comprehended at a young age that many players’ salaries improved the lives of low-income families.
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Since 2014, she has been executive director of the New York City-based National Basketball Players Association, the first female union chief in major American sports. Yet even now, she is struck by the many stakeholders who watch her every move. “I was naïve,” Roberts said. “I had no clue how much interest there would be in the fact that I’m a woman.” Naïve? Clueless? Does that remotely describe someone who was recruited for Anita Hill’s legal team during Senate hearings for U.S. Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas? “Michele is the last person I would call naïve,” said Gary Kohlman, the union’s general counsel who watched her blossom from an ambitious student into a formidable trial lawyer. Roberts also navigates public perceptions that didn’t arise during her high-profile legal career in the nation’s capital. “I don’t want any failure of mine to haunt a successor,” she said. “Before coming here, I never felt the need to be the best for the sake of the next person—in this instance, the next woman—who wants this job. I constantly meet people who say, ‘We’re rooting for you. You’re giving our daughters hope. Our children are counting on you.’” The union job is her first in pro sports, but she sees similarities to commercial litigation for Fortune® 500 clients. Both rely on skills in changing people’s minds and in managing multiple constituencies. While practicing law, she communicated with company sharehold-
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ers, senior corporate executives, federal agency officials and other litigators. At the union, she deals with the league, agents, fans, the news media and 400-plus male basketball players. Just as she used to speak respectfully to jurors—mindful not to talk down to them—she does the same nowadays with players.
Path to Law
Roberts’ single-parent mother raised five children in New York public housing. The boys controlled the family TV, and Knicks basketball games were favorites. Roberts fell in love. She learned that many players came from neighborhoods like hers and that their salaries helped lift their families out of poverty. A teenage Roberts won a scholarship to a boarding school where African-American students were few, her first time in an overwhelmingly white environment. Before leaving home, she shared a hobby with her mother. Lacking cash for movies or recreation, the mother frequented the Bronx Supreme Court to watch the proceedings. The girl tagged along starting at age 10. When her mother explained that poor people received free legal help from public defenders, the girl found the career appealing. While earning a JD at the University of California, Berkeley, in the late 1970s, she defended San Quentin State Prison inmates in disciplinary hearings that often
resulted in reinstatement of privileges such as conjugal visits. Kohlman, meanwhile, visited Berkeley to recruit for the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia, where he was trial division chief. After interviewing Roberts, he urged his bosses to meet her. “Michele had empathy for people,” Kohlman said. “Her sense of being in command gave her the ability to connect well with
Courtroom successes came, too. Among them was a case in which 10 people stood trial for the 1984 rape and murder of a 48-year-old mother of six. Jurors acquitted only two defendants—including Roberts’ client. After eight years as a public defender, she left to practice with colleagues such as Kohlman, expanding into civil and white-collar criminal litigation.
At the union, she deals with the league, agents, fans, the news media and 400-plus male basketball players.
juries. How she expressed and conducted herself had an element of mystery, an enigmatic quality. I could see all this translating well in a courtroom.”
On a fast break to excellence
Upon joining the public defender’s office in 1980, Roberts noticed that opposing counsel assumed she was incompetent and lacked law firm job offers. So she became relentless in trial preparation. “This misconception about public defenders prompted me to prove my commitment and my talent,” Roberts said in a 2008 Diversity & the Bar interview. “I make it my business to be the best lawyer in the room; it stems from needing to prove my excellence when I was starting out.”
In 1991, a former colleague of Roberts sought help. He was advising Hill, a former government employee who was set to testify during Senate confirmation hearings for Thomas. Hill had alleged that Thomas made unwelcome, sexually provocative remarks to her when they worked together. Roberts spent hours interrogating and cross-examining her in preparation for the all-male, Senate panel. Hill didn’t break down during the nationally televised hearings. Thomas, who denied her allegations, ascended to the Supreme Court, but Hill’s graphic testimony ignited broader public
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PHOTOS COURTESY OF NATIONAL BASKETBALL PLAYERS ASSOCIATION
Since becoming executive director of the National Basketball Players Association in 2014, Michele Roberts has worked to mend relations between the union and its members. Consequently, she talks often with union president Chris Paul, who’s in his 12th season playing pro basketball.
awareness of sexual harassment in workplaces. By the early 2000s, Roberts moved to big law firms and in 2008, was recognized on MCCA’s annual Rainmakers List. Still, she did more than serve clients. When Lisa Gilford joined the Los Angeles office of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP in 2013 as a litigation partner, she knew of Roberts only by reputation, which included having tried 100-plus cases to jury verdict in federal and state courts before joining Skadden’s Washington, D.C. office two years earlier.
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Roberts bridged 2,300 miles between them by hosting Gilford for dinner and introducing her to African-American associates in the DC office. A sponsor and mentor to Skadden’s junior lawyers, especially women and minorities, Roberts “understood we needed to form a community, and she went out of her way to make it happen,” Gilford said, calling her down-to-earth demeanor a rarity among superstars.
Her wit was apparent when “she introduced herself to a group of associates by noting that she used to be poor, became rich, and rich is better,” Gilford said. “Michele’s upbringing informed her ability to walk into any room and relate to others.”
Gravitating Toward Basketball Labor Force
Roberts regularly attended Washington Wizards games, dating to when the team sported a different name. But players for the Wizards, her hometown Knicks and the
league’s 28 other teams endured a five-month lockout in 2011 because negotiations between their union and the league collapsed during collective bargaining. Roberts grew further dismayed in 2013 when Billy Hunter, then-executive director of the union, was fired by players after an investigation revealed Hunter made questionable financial decisions using union funds. She began researching union operations and contacted the search firm sifting through 300 job candidates. In a vote of union leaders the following year, Roberts defeated two other finalists—both men—by winning players over with her personal and professional narratives. In recent months, she has been negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement with league officials. The current one—its ratification ended the 2011 lockout— gives players a smaller percentage of basketball-related income than what they received before the lockout. The agreement lasts until 2021, but the league and the union are each permitted to opt out of it, meaning another work stoppage could occur. Long after the current agreement was brokered, the league secured a new, national TV rights deal—reportedly worth $24 billion over nine years—that took effect at the start of the 201617 basketball season. Each team’s player payroll surged from the cash influx, so it’s no surprise the union wants a new agreement. Roberts and league officials have pledged not to negotiate through the news media, but Kohlman
illustrated how Roberts protects and promotes player interests in a related area: Before Roberts’ tenure, players typically received their group licensing checks—shares from sales of video games, jerseys and other official league merchandise—at meetings convened by union officials, who kept checks for months at a time. Under Roberts, the payments are distributed immediately to players, rather than used as motivators to attend meetings focused on union priorities. Meaning, she
make a move tomorrow, but today might be the time the opportunity is available,” she said. “Don’t let fear of the unknown deter or stop you. There will be things you cannot learn how to do until you have made the move. Life is not a dress rehearsal.” Her honeymoon at the union has faded, but her commitment has not. “I’m delighted to be here,” Roberts said, “and still pinching myself that I’m here. I loved being a public defender because I regarded clients so highly. I could not have
"They made the right choice in hiring her. She knows combat, is excellent at negotiating and is always well-prepared yet realistic." —Gary Kohlman trusts them to show up. “Michele recognizes them as grown men,” Kohlman said of the players. “It’s a palpable trust. There’s a remarkable connection she has made, paying such close attention, it’s as if she hangs onto their every word.” He adds, “They made the right choice hiring her. She knows combat, is excellent at negotiating and is always well-prepared yet realistic.”
Enjoying Today
had a better way to spend my life as a lawyer. My current situation is different because clients—the players—haven’t been accused of crimes. But I have just as much respect for who they are. It’s wonderful knowing these men and that I am making a difference in their lives.” ■ LYDIA LUM was honored as national journalist of the year by the Organization of Chinese Americans. Now a freelance writer and editor, Lum (lydialum999@yahoo.com) is a former reporter for the Houston Chronicle and Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Roberts doesn’t miss practicing law and encourages others to consider intriguing career options. “You might believe you can
MCCA.COM NOV.DEC 2016 D I V E R S I T Y
& T H E B A R 13
LITIGATION MATTERS BY CRAIG A. THOMPSON, ESQ.
IF I KNEW THEN... Part One
“The elevator to success is out of order. You’ll have to use the stairs, one step at a time” — Joe Girard
During a recent meeting with a group of young lawyers, an intriguing discussion developed surrounding the practice of law and the changing nature of litigation.
early stages of a legal career, a list of lessons learned can be of some good use. With the above in mind, what follows is a list of themes that the
When litigating a matter it is critical to remember that, ultimately, it is not about the case. It is about the fact finder's perception of the case based on how you present it. Before the session ended, one of the lawyers asked me: “What does the 47 year old Craig wish that the 27 year old Craig knew about the law and trial work?” What a great question! After years of practice and miles of travel across this amazing country, I have seen and learned quite a bit about trying cases and zealously representing clients. For those of us still learning—which should mean all of us—and especially for those in the
14 D I V E R S I T Y & T H E B A R NOV.DEC 2016 MCCA.COM
younger me would have appreciated knowing. I hope they are helpful to you.
It’s Not About The Case
When litigating a matter it is critical to remember that, ultimately, it is not about the case. It is about the fact finder’s perception of the case based on how you present it. “Great” cases have been lost and “horrible” cases have been won be-
cause of the case presentation, and no trial lawyer can ever assume that the finder of fact will simply get it. In this age of information overload and bullet point news, the need to present case themes in ways that are understandable and relatable are even more important. Be aware of the potential cognitive biases of your finders of fact, and make sure they shift toward your themes.
Optics Matter
When trying a case, ALL eyes are on you, and how you look, act and treat people matter. Speak to the clerk, pick up after yourself, make sure your socks match. If you have ever seen juror comments after a trial, you might be surprised at the things they found important and discussed during deliberations. Don’t let your optics distract them from the case presentation.
Be Prepared to Call an Audible
In our quest to win and focus on the outcome we want, it is sometimes possible to get too close to
One of the worst things that can happen to you is that you lose an argument, the specific game plan that we originally set. The litigation theater is like water, and can flow in the direction of the elements surrounding it. Witnesses don’t always cooperate; rulings don’t always go your way; technology doesn’t always work. Be prepared to go off script, and never let them see you sweat.
Start from The End
I have learned over time the importance of listing what issues I want the jury discussing, what witnesses they need to emphasize and what evidence they should view as important during their deliberations. More important, I have learned that this should be done as early in the litigation as possible.
Rules? What Rules?
One of my favorite sayings is “you can’t be fooled if you know the rules.” It is one of my favorites because 1) I thought of it, and 2) it happens to be true. One of the worst things that can happen to you is that you lose an argument, evidentiary battle or objection because you did not understand or
evidentiary battle or objection because you did not understand or know the rules. know the rules. This piece of advice is especially true if you try cases in multiple jurisdictions. Take the time to learn and master the rules of the game, which include the governing rules of the particular judge in whose courtroom you sit. Also, get to know the local “cultural rules” of the community in which you are trying your case. Be respectful. Ask around. Do the research and apply the rules.
ALL Efforts Are Important
You might be asked to cross examine the most important witness in the case. You might be asked to serve as the lead for arguing motions, law and evidence before the judge. You might be asked to draft daily trial briefs to preserve the record. You might be asked to provide daily summaries to the client to keep them posted on daily activities in court. Whatever you are asked to do, do it well and know that it is
important to the big picture. Never view your role as minor, and do not underestimate to relevance of your efforts and involvement. Trial is the ultimate team sport. In the next column, we will continue with these litigation “lessons learned,” and drill down further on how to build great relationships inside and outside of the courtroom. ■ CRAIG A. THOMPSON, ESQ. (cathompson@venable. com) is a partner with Venable LLP and a trial lawyer with 20 years of experience trying civil cases in state and federal courts throughout the country. He is a member of the board of directors of the International Association of Defense Counsel and lectures across the country on topics related to civil litigation. Connect with him on Twitter at www.twitter. com/getcraig and LinkedIn at www.linkedin. com/in/craigathompson.
MCCA.COM NOV.DEC 2016 D I V E R S I T Y
& T H E B A R 15
S U R V E Y
Breakin
C O U N S E L
By Lydia Lum
One
WOMEN OF COLOR ARE SCARCE
M C C A’ S 1 7 T H A N N U A L G E N E R A L
every year in the MCCA General Counsel Survey. Typically, three or fewer are newcomer GCs at Fortune® 500 employers, resulting in glaring disparities between these women and their nonminority peers. Nothing indicates the 5-to-1 gap in hiring, promotion and representation will disappear soon. However, this year’s survey reveals that five minority women who have never appeared in MCCA’s roster became Fortune® 500 legal chiefs.
16 D I V E R S I T Y & T H E B A R NOV.DEC 2016 MCCA.COM
ing Barriers, Person at a Time This rarity raises questions: Is this a new trend? Are opportunities growing for female minorities? Or, is this survey finding an anomaly? “I don’t believe this is just an anomaly,” said Sharon Barner, vice president and general counsel of Cummins (148). “The candidate pool is definitely expanding at corporations. More and more women of color are interested. Women such as myself are spreading the word, telling them that it’s a good job. It’s like being let into a secret society. Also, because more women are serving on corporate boards, it has resulted in more women of color among general counsel.”
Barner receives a call every month from an executive recruiter or chief executive officer outside Cummins who’s seeking GC candidates. “They are looking specifically for women of color,” she said. Minority men and white women also remain underrepresented in MCCA’s annual survey, but the chronic lagging of female minorities makes it worth examining this year’s newcomer class.
“IT’S TERRIFIC THAT HOMEGROWN talent has emerged,” said Jean Lee, MCCA’s president and CEO. “These GCs demonstrate that talent development and talent management don’t have to be exclusive of each other. The four companies didn’t have to look far for highly qualified minority women.” MCCA.COM NOV.DEC 2016 D I V E R S I T Y
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Three of the five are first-time GCs. The others are Deneen Donnley at insurance conglomerate USAA (114) and Sara Yang Bosco at Emerson Electric (128), an equipment provider for the metals processing, mining, automotive assembly and commercial building design industries. Prior to becoming USAA’s legal chief, Donnley was GC of its banking businesses, and before that, GC of a financial services institution. Bosco was most recently president of Emerson’s Asia-Pacific operations and previously, its GC in that region. Four of the five women—including Bosco and Donnley— won promotions to legal chief over external candidates. The other two were deputy general counsel: Trecia Canty
Minorities Fortune® 500
at PBF Energy (217) and Maxine Lum Mauricio at EMCOR Group (381). “It’s terrific that homegrown talent has emerged,” said Jean Lee, MCCA’s president and CEO. “These GCs demonstrate that talent development and talent management don’t have to be exclusive of each other. The four companies didn’t have to look far for highly qualified minority women.” Four of the five Fortune® 500 companies, including Emerson, reside in historically male-dominated industries: PBF Energy in petroleum refining, EMCOR in construction and Union Pacific (129) in railroads. The latter hired Rhonda Ferguson, formerly chief ethics officer at a utility, as its top counsel.
2015 RANK
2014 RANK
COMPANY
GENERAL COUNSEL
Ford Motor
Bradley Gayton¹
9
9
Motor Vehicles and Parts
AmerisourceBergen
John Chou
12
16
Wholesalers: Health Care
HP
Kim Rivera¹
20
19
Computers, Office Equipment
Home Depot
Teresa Wynn Roseborough
28
33
Specialty Retailers: Other
Citigroup
Rohan Weerasinghe
29
28
Commercial Banks
Alphabet
David C. Drummond
36
40
Internet Services and Retailing
Target
Don Liu¹
38
36
General Merchandisers
MetLife
Ricardo Anzaldua
40
39
Insurance: Life, Health (stock)
PepsiCo
Tony West
44
44
Food Consumer Products
Cigna
Nicole Jones
79
90
Health Care: Insurance and Managed Care
United Continental Holdings
Brett Hart
80
79
Airlines
Publix Super Markets
John Attaway Jr.
87
101
3M
Ivan Fong
93
98
Miscellaneous
Tesoro
Kim Rucker¹
98
77
Petroleum Refining
Macy's
Elisa D. Garcia¹
103
105
General Merchandisers
McDonald's
Gloria Santona
109
110
Food Services
USAA
Deneen Donnley¹
114
122
Insurance: Property and Casualty (stock)
Raytheon
Frank R. Jimenez
120
129
Aerospace and Defense
US Foods Holding
Luis Avila¹
122
128
Wholesalers: Food and Grocery
Centene
Keith Williamson
124
186
Health Care: Insurance and Managed Care
Emerson Electric
Sara Yang Bosco¹
128
120
Electronics, Electrical Equipment
Union Pacific
Rhonda Ferguson¹
129
123
Railroads
Danaher
Brian Ellis¹
133
147
Scientific, Photographic and Control Equipment
Aflac
Audrey Boone Tillman
135
132
Insurance: Life, Health (stock)
Abbott Laboratories
Hubert Allen
138
134
Medical Products and Equipment
Cummins
Sharon Barner
148
154
Construction and Farm Machinery
Fluor
Carlos Hernandez
155
136
Engineering, Construction
Pacific Gas & Electric
Hyun Park
166
182
Utilities: Gas and Electric
Bristol-Myers Squibb
Sandra Leung
168
195
Pharmaceuticals
18 D I V E R S I T Y & T H E B A R NOV.DEC 2016 MCCA.COM
INDUSTRY
Food and Drug Stores
Three years ago, the number of female GCs in these industries—which also include aerospace, military defense, trucking and oil and gas exploration—was almost as high as that of the retail and food-related sectors combined. The proliferation of women in mostly male settings included Barner, who joined Cummins in 2012. This year, 35 Fortune® 500 companies in hard hat industries employ female legal chiefs across all ethnicities, compared with only 30 when combining retail, grocery and other food-related businesses. Regardless of industry type, Barner applauded the recent promotions of female, minority newcomers, but she pointed out that multiple pipelines feed into the GC post. “Women of color at law firms are prime targets to be
2014 RANK
Lawrence P. Tu
203
212
Entertainment
Kirkland Hicks¹
205
223
Insurance: Life, Health (stock)
SYNNEX
Simon Leung
212
220
Wholesalers: Electronics and Office Equipment
PBF Energy
Trecia Canty¹
217
149
Petroleum Refining
Waste Management
Barry Caldwell
221
217
Waste Management
Guardian Life Ins. Co. of America
Tracy Rich
226
254
Insurance: Life, Health (Mutual)
Consolidated Edison
Elizabeth Moore
229
236
Utilities: Gas and Electric
Ross Stores
Ken Jew
237
269
Specialty Retailers: Apparel
Entergy
Marcus Brown
247
241
Utilities: Gas and Electric
Praxair
Guillermo Bichara
262
249
Chemicals
Unum Group
Lisa Iglesias
265
279
Insurance: Life, Health (stock)
eBay
Marie Oh Huber
300
172
Internet Services and Retailing
Corning
Lewis Steverson
313
297
Network and Other Communications Equipment
Avis Budget Group
Michael Tucker
330
336
Automotive Retailing, Services
American Family Insurance Group
Mark Afable
332
358
Insurance: Property and Casualty (Stock)
Hershey
Leslie Turner
362
376
Food Consumer Products
Dover
Ivonne Cabrera
377
346
Industrial Machinery
Huntington Ingalls Industries
Kellye Walker
378
390
Aerospace and Defense
EMCOR Group
Maxine Lum Mauricio¹
381
421
Engineering, Construction
Targa Resources
Paul Chung
387
329
Pipelines
Anixter International
Justin Choi
391
420
Wholesalers: Diversified
Asbury Automotive Group
George Villasana
393
450
Automotive Retailing, Services
Symantec
Scott Taylor
400
405
Computer Software
Oshkosh
Ignacio Cortina¹
424
394
Motor Vehicles and Parts
Hanesbrands
Joia Johnson
448
490
Apparel
Peabody Energy
A. Verona Dorch
458
398
Mining, Crude-Oil Production
Spectra Energy
Reginald Hedgebeth
493
449
Pipelines
GENERAL COUNSEL
CBS Lincoln National
INDUSTRY
S U R V E Y
New to list
1
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This spate of male-dominated businesses choosing female GCs doesn’t surprise Cummins’ Barner. The vast majority of queries that she receives from recruiters and CEOs are on behalf of manufacturers in the Midwest, where her employer is based. For 20 years, the law department at Cummins, which designs and distributes diesel and natural gas engines, has been led almost entirely by women. The length of GC tenure for each of the four women—two of them minorities including Barner—has varied, with only a single, one-year, male GC stint during the past two decades. Women’s leadership, including that of non-minorities, in so-called hard hat professions is nothing novel in MCCA’s survey.
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Breaking Barriers, One Person at a Time
wooed away,” she said. “Firms have become an active recruiting ground. The best route is not always going inhouse and climbing to the top. Instead, it might be easier to move directly from a firm to general counsel.” Barner’s career path is an example. Cummins had been a client when she was practicing at Foley & Lardner LLP in Chicago. A partner there since 1996, she spent six years as the only minority woman on the firm’s executive management committee. Her contact with then-Cummins General Counsel Marya Rose remained steady. “Part of why I stayed at the firm as long as I did was to help other women there build a book of business and make partner,” Barner said. “I was already in Marya’s line of sight, and I became very familiar with Cummins through that relationship. Even though I had not purposely sought out the GC position, I was, when approached about succeeding Marya, already thinking about what else I wanted in my career. I was receptive to a new challenge, and along came Cummins.” She offered three reasons for why so few minority women have been Fortune® 500 legal chiefs. “If you’re not in the existing pool already,” she said of the Fortune® 500, “how does anyone know of you? “A second reason is women of color who are already inhouse need high-profile assignments and visibility in order for the board of directors and CEO to consider them strong candidates for GC. So if you’re a GC, you need to have a
Minorities Fortune® 501–1000
diverse, in-house pool in the first place. But if a GC doesn’t plan or doesn’t want to take on succession planning, then it’s really tough for in-house employees to gain visibility to build relations with the CEO and board. Planning for succession of the GC falls partly on the board, partly on the CEO and partly on the incumbent GC.” The third reason might be akin to the classic causality dilemma of whether the chicken or egg came first. “There needs to be a critical mass of minority women as GCs to help others traverse the ladder to join us,” Barner said. “It has taken us many years, however, to grow into a critical mass.”
Numbers Tell the Story
This year, 56 Fortune® 500 corporations employ minorities as general counsel, an all-time high and a net gain of five from MCCA’s previous survey. The 56 GCs consist of 34 men and 22 women. That’s three more men and two more women than previously. The racial breakdown is 28 African-Americans, 13 Hispanics and 15 Asian-Pacific Americans, one of whom is South Asian. That’s three more African-Americans and two more Hispanics than a year ago. Michelle Banks, chair of MCCA’s board of directors and a board member since 2007, said, “It’s good to see a record number of minority GCs, especially while minorities
2015 RANK
2014 RANK
Tracy Preston
502
533
Specialty Retailers: Apparel
NVIDIA
Brian Cabrera
508
553
Semiconductors and Other Electronic Components
Ascena Retail Group
Duane Holloway¹
523
537
Specialty Retailers: Apparel
Zoetis
Heidi Chen
527
538
Pharmaceuticals
KeyCorp
Paul Harris
540
592
Commercial Banks
MasTec
Alberto de Cardenas
572
562
Engineering, Construction
The Andersons
Naran Burchinow
574
569
Food Production
Bemis
Sheri Edison
586
534
Packaging, Containers
Agilent Technologies
Michael Tang¹
589
389
Scientific, Photographic and Control Equipment
Meritor
April Miller Boise¹
647
641
Motor Vehicles and Parts
Lennox International
John Torres
655
693
Industrial Machinery
C. R. Bard
Samrat Khichi
661
700
Medical Products and Equipment
Hubbell
An-Ping Hsieh
666
695
Electronics, Electrical Equipment
Citrix Systems
Tony Gomes
676
725
Network and Other Communications Equipment
Alliant Energy
James Gallegos
679
697
Utilities: Gas and Electric
Varian Medical Systems
John Kuo
708
745
Medical Products and Equipment
Carter's
Michael C. Wu
726
779
Apparel
COMPANY
GENERAL COUNSEL
Neiman Marcus Group
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INDUSTRY
Hence, diversity champions clamor for more leadership opportunities for historically underrepresented demographics. “Kudos to corporations for pushing the needle forward, but 22 is still really small,” Lee said of the minority female head count. When factoring in Caucasian women, the number of female, Fortune® 500 GCs this year is 124—only four more than a year ago. This follows increases of eight and seven in two previous surveys. Lee considers any growth—even at a modest pace—positive, but pointed out that because women make up more than one-third of the legal profession, there should be no shortage of female job candidates. Banks, meanwhile, said that diligent succession planning and preparation can exponentially boost general counsel opportunities for women. She knows this firsthand. Less than a year ago at Gap (177), Julie Gruber succeeded Banks as executive vice president and global general counsel, becoming the fourth consecutive woman to serve as the retail clothier’s top lawyer. Gruber, Banks and previous GC Lauri Shanahan were all developed and promoted from within the company. Yet too few corporate law departments employ these tactics, Banks and others said, which can cause underrepresented demographics to languish. Take Hispanics, for instance.
2015 RANK
2014 RANK
GENERAL COUNSEL
DistributionNOW
Raymond Chang
727
INDUSTRY
Sabre
Rachel Gonzalez
736
763
Internet Services and Retailing
Triple-S Management
Carlos L. Rodríguez-Ramos
749
919
Health Care: Insurance and Managed Care
WGL Holdings
Leslie T. Thornton
802
801
Energy
Edgewell Personal Care
Manish Shanbhag¹
856
579
Household and Personal Products
A. Schulman
Andrean Horton¹
865
883
Chemicals
Public Storage
Lily Yan Hughes
870
952
Miscellaneous
Wayfair
Enrique Colbert
906
Internet Services and Retailing
Vijaya Gadde
914
Internet Services and Retailing
Herman Miller
Tim Lopez
932
Popular
Javier D. Ferrer
938
Restoration Hardware
Edward Lee
940
IDEX
Denise Cade¹
964
Verifone Systems
Albert Liu
971
Computers, Office Equipment
Shire
Mark C. Darrell
980
Utilities: Gas and Electric
BlueLinx Holdings
Shyam Reddy
991
EP Energy
Marguerite Woung-Chapman
995
Wholesalers: Other
C O U N S E L
COMPANY
M C C A’ S 1 7 T H A N N U A L G E N E R A L
appear not to be making similar advances in law firms. The powerful business case for diversity and inclusion seems to be better appreciated in corporate America currently, but it’s still a small GC group. More change is needed.” MCCA’s Lee agreed, adding, “Just because there’s an uptick doesn’t mean we can rest on our laurels. Corporate leaders have clearly taken action, but these numbers can easily go down again.” Last year’s roster of Fortune® 500 minorities was three fewer than that of the previous year, resulting from 25 percent of the African-American GCs vacating their positions. More recently, Cox Enterprises announced in mid-October that it hired Juliette Pryor away from US Foods Holding. Pryor was in previous MCCA surveys. So the influx of five female newcomers has also helped stave off further dwindling of the overall minority roster. Another bright spot lies in promotions of Emerson’s Bosco and EMCOR’s Mauricio doubling the number of Asian-Pacific American women. For many years, this subset stalled at two. Moreover, women of color such as Cummins’ Barner populate 10 percent of the 100 companies ranked from No. 69 to No. 168. That’s better representation than their 4 percent share of the total Fortune® 500 and supports the argument that diverse perspectives can yield strong business results and higher profits.
Home Equipment, Furnishings
S U R V E Y
970
Commercial Banks Specialty Retailers: Other
969
Industrial Machinery
Wholesalers: Diversified 721
Mining, Crude-Oil Production
New to list
1
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Following Pryor’s departure from US Foods (122), Luis Avila was appointed interim GC. However, the only other male, Hispanic newcomer in the Fortune® 500 this year is Ignacio Cortina of Oshkosh (424), whom the vehicle manufacturer promoted to GC. In last year’s survey, Guillermo Bichara’s promotion at Praxair (262) made him the sole male, Hispanic newcomer. The most recent female, Hispanic newcomers to this group were Ivonne Cabrera of Dover (377) and Rachel Gonzalez of Dean Foods (336)—three years ago. Gonzalez has since moved to Sabre (736).
Women Fortune® 500
The Uphill Climb Toward Change
These sobering survey findings don’t surprise MCCA board member Ricardo Anzaldua, who said what’s hindering the advancement of Hispanic lawyers afflicts all underrepresented demographics: a lack of sponsorship. “No one comes straight out of law school with all the apparatuses to be a general counsel just as no one comes straight out of law school with all the apparatuses to be a partner at a white-shoe law firm,” said Anzaldua, who’s executive vice president and general counsel at MetLife (40). “In-house talent development programs tend to be devoted
2015 RANK
2014 RANK
COMPANY
GENERAL COUNSEL
Walmart
Karen Roberts
1
1
McKesson
Lori A. Schechter
5
11
Wholesalers: Health Care
UnitedHealth Group
Marianne Short
6
14
Health Care: Insurance and Managed Care
Kroger
Christine Wheatley
17
20
Food and Drug Stores
HP
Kim Rivera¹
20
19
Computers, Office Equipment
Cardinal Health
Susan Jacobson¹
21
26
Wholesalers: Health Care
JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Stacey Friedman¹
23
21
Commercial Banks
Home Depot
Teresa Wynn Roseborough
28
33
Specialty Retailers: Other
Phillips 66
Paula Johnson
30
7
IBM
Michelle H. Browdy
31
24
Information Technology Services
Procter & Gamble
Deborah Majoras
34
32
Household and Personal Products
Marathon Petroleum
Suzanne Gagle¹
42
25
Petroleum Refining
FedEx
Christine Richards
58
65
Mail, Package, and Freight Delivery
Lockheed Martin
Maryanne Lavan
60
64
Aerospace and Defense
New York Life Insurance
Sheila Davidson
61
80
Insurance: Life, Health (Mutual)
Honeywell International
Kate Adams
75
74
Electronics, Electrical Equipment
Oracle
Dorian Daley
77
81
Computer Software
Cigna
Nicole Jones
79
90
Health Care: Insurance and Managed Care
Allstate
Susan Lees
81
89
Insurance: Property and Casualty (Stock)
American Express
Laureen Seeger
85
88
Diversified Financials
TJX
Ann McCauley
89
103
ConocoPhillips
Janet Langford Carrig
90
51
NIKE
Hilary Krane
91
106
Deere
Mary K. W. Jones
97
86
Construction and Farm Machinery
Tesoro
Kim Rucker¹
98
77
Petroleum Refining
DuPont
Stacy Fox
101
87
Chemicals
Avnet
Erin Lewin
102
108
Wholesalers: Electronics and Office Equipment
Macy's
Elisa D. Garcia¹
103
105
General Merchandisers
McDonald's
Gloria Santona
109
110
Food Services
Sears Holdings
Kristin Coleman
111
99
USAA
Deneen Donnley¹
114
122
Insurance: Property and Casualty (Stock)
Duke Energy
Julie Janson
115
116
Utilities: Gas and Electric
22 D I V E R S I T Y & T H E B A R NOV.DEC 2016 MCCA.COM
INDUSTRY General Merchandisers
Petroleum Refining
Specialty Retailers: Apparel Mining, Crude-Oil Production Apparel
General Merchandisers
development plans and issuing stretch assignments. The sponsors’ work is part of their annual performance review. In-house opposition from nonparticipants has evaporated. “There is usually debate over new, internal programs and policies,” Anzaldua said. “Once we communicated that we are trying to perform the same service that has historically been provided to nondiverse individuals, there was no more pushback. People understood why this is a business imperative. “We rarely experience,” he noted, “this kind of silence.”
Sheila Cheston
118
124
Aerospace and Defense
AbbVie
Laura J. Schumacher
123
146
Pharmaceuticals
Community Health Systems
Rachel Seifert
125
135
Health Care: Medical Facilities
International Paper
Sharon Ryan
127
114
Packaging, Containers
Emerson Electric
Sara Yang Bosco¹
128
120
Electronics, Electrical Equipment
Union Pacific
Rhonda Ferguson¹
129
123
Railroads
Whirlpool
Kirsten Hewitt
134
148
Electronics, Electrical Equipment
Aflac
Audrey Boone Tillman
135
132
Insurance: Life, Health (stock)
Dollar General
Rhonda Taylor
139
159
General Merchandisers
Tenet Healthcare
Audrey Andrews
140
170
Health Care: Medical Facilities
Starbucks
Lucy Helm
146
187
Food Services
Cummins
Sharon Barner
148
154
Construction and Farm Machinery
Altria Group
Denise Keane
149
169
Tobacco
AECOM
Carla Christofferson
156
343
Engineering, Construction
SUPERVALU
Karla Robertson
160
164
Food and Drug Stores
Bristol-Myers Squibb
Sandra Leung
168
195
Pharmaceuticals
Colgate-Palmolive
Jennifer Daniels
174
179
Household and Personal Products
ConAgra Foods
Colleen Batcheler
176
173
Food Consumer Products
Gap
Julie Gruber¹
177
188
Specialty Retailers: Apparel
Whole Foods Market
Roberta Lang
181
214
Food and Drug Stores
FirstEnergy
Leila Vespoli
188
206
Utilities: Gas and Electric
DaVita HealthCare Partners
Kathleen Alyce Waters¹
200
231
Health Care: Medical Facilities
WellCare Health Plans
Anat Hakim¹
202
234
Health Care: Insurance and Managed Care
Visa
Kelly Mahon Tullier
204
238
Financial Data Services
HollyFrontier
Denise McWatters
214
150
Petroleum Refining
PBF Energy
Trecia Canty¹
217
149
Petroleum Refining
Texas Instruments
Cynthia Hoff Trochu
219
233
Semiconductors and other Electronic Components
CDW
Christine Leahy
220
253
Information Technology Services
Occidental Petroleum
Marcia Backus
225
115
Mining, Crude-Oil Production
J.C. Penney
Janet Link
228
250
General Merchandisers
Consolidated Edison
Elizabeth Moore
229
236
Utilities: Gas and Electric
Northrop Grumman
INDUSTRY
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to people who meet the preferences and predilections of those who have power and authority, and historically, that has been white men. The system isn’t overtly prejudiced. There are leaders who are bigoted, but most are not.” During the summer, MetLife legal rolled out a sponsorship initiative for 10 percent of its employees, including white men and non-lawyers, who are junior and mid-level professionals up to and including assistant vice presidents. Participants were chosen based on performance, enthusiasm and effort. Each member of Anzaldua’s senior leadership team sponsors at least one participant by creating career
M C C A’ S 1 7 T H A N N U A L G E N E R A L
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He knows of similar initiatives underway or being planned at about half a dozen Am Law 100 firms. “There seems to be a common recognition emerging in the profession,” he said. “It’s exciting that other organizations are taking identical steps that we have at MetLife. I wish general counsel at more corporations would recognize that this needs to be done. Diverse talent is more populous at junior levels within organizations, but this is also where attrition is high. It’s disappointing that so much hemorrhaging takes place. Too often, no one in the upper ranks talks to people in the junior levels.”
Anzaldua cautioned against expecting major changes immediately, such as the number of minority GCs skyrocketing overnight. “You don’t build Rome in a day,” he said. “You cannot make someone into a general counsel in only a year, but at MetLife, we have many legal and compliance professionals who could easily become senior, in-house leaders or senior partners at firms within a year.” Cummins’ Barner added that lawyers with GC aspirations can assume more control in making their goal a reality. She compared the process of becoming a strong GC
Women Fortune® 500 (continued) COMPANY
GENERAL COUNSEL
2015 RANK
2014 RANK
INDUSTRY
VF
Laura Meagher
231
248
Apparel
L Brands
Shelley Milano
234
262
Specialty Retailers: Apparel
Principal Financial
Karen Shaff
236
282
Insurance: Life, Health (stock)
CSX
Ellen Fitzsimmons
239
240
Railroads
United States Steel
Suzanne Rich Folsom
244
176
Metals
L-3 Communications
Ann Davidson¹
245
252
Aerospace and Defense
Voya Financial
Trish Walsh
252
268
Diversified Financials
Sherwin-Williams
Catherine Kilbane
253
266
Chemicals
Hilton Worldwide Holdings
Kristin Campbell
254
280
Hotels, Casinos, Resorts
R.R. Donnelley & Sons
Suzanne Bettman
255
258
Publishing, Printing
Estée Lauder
Sara Moss
261
271
Household and Personal Products
Biogen
Susan Alexander
263
298
Pharmaceuticals
Unum Group
Lisa Iglesias
265
279
Insurance: Life, Health (stock)
Public Service Enterprise Group
Tamara Linde
272
274
Utilities: Gas and Electric
Sempra Energy
Martha Wyrsch
279
270
Utilities: Gas and Electric
AutoZone
Kristen Collier Wright
280
307
Specialty Retailers: Other
Discover Financial Services
Kelly McNamara Corley
283
303
Commercial Banks
Western Refining
Melissa M. Buhrig¹
289
204
Petroleum Refining
Advance Auto Parts
Tammy Finley
293
294
Specialty Retailers: Other
eBay
Marie Oh Huber
300
172
Internet Services and Retailing
Hormel Foods
Lori Marco
304
310
Food Consumer Products
PayPal Holdings
Louise Pentland¹
307
Republic Services
Catherine Ellingsen¹
312
323
Waste Management
Anadarko Petroleum
Amanda McMillian¹
324
162
Mining, Crude-Oil Production
Pacific Life
Sharon Cheever
326
387
Insurance: Life, Health (stock)
PPL
Joanne Raphael
350
257
Utilities: Gas and Electric
SpartanNash
Kathy Mahoney
351
359
Wholesalers: Food and Grocery
Quanta Services
Carolyn Campbell¹
352
361
Engineering, Construction
WESCO International
Diane Lazzaris
357
360
Wholesalers: Diversified
Foot Locker
Sheilagh Clarke
361
384
Specialty Retailers: Apparel
Hershey
Leslie Turner
362
376
Food Consumer Products
24 D I V E R S I T Y & T H E B A R NOV.DEC 2016 MCCA.COM
Financial Data Services
Fortune® 501-1000
Minority women making their debut in MCCA’s survey helped fuel an increase in minority GCs at Fortune® 1000
employers—just as they did in the Fortune® 500. For instance, chemicals distributor A. Schulman (865) promoted Andrean Horton, who spent six years handling its litigation, intellectual property, real estate and other matters. Also, automobile components manufacturer Meritor (647) hired April Miller Boise, who was legal chief at two other companies and a law firm partner. Last year, a sole, female, minority newcomer joined this cohort. It’s important to consider context before cheering for the fact that 34 GCs of color populate this year’s Fortune®
2015 RANK
2014 RANK
INDUSTRY
CenterPoint Energy
Dana O'Brien
363
313
Utilities: Gas and Electric
The Williams Companies
Sarah C. Miller
364
370
Energy
Casey's General Stores
Julia Jackowski
374
382
Specialty Retailers: Other
Dover
Ivonne M. Cabrera
377
346
Industrial Machinery
Huntington Ingalls Industries
Kellye Walker
378
390
Aerospace and Defense
EMCOR Group
Maxine Lum Mauricio¹
381
421
Engineering, Construction
UGI
Monica Gaudiosi
384
349
Energy
Salesforce.com
Amy Weaver
386
483
Computer Software
Spirit AeroSystems
Stacy Cozad¹
389
396
Aerospace and Defense
CMS Energy
Catherine M. Reynolds
403
383
Utilities: Gas and Electric
FMC Technologies
Dianne Ralston
410
357
Oil and Gas Equipment, Services
A-Mark Precious Metals
Carol Meltzer
426
444
Miscellaneous
Avery Dennison
Susan Miller
435
427
Packaging, Containers
WEC Energy Group
Susan Martin
437
519
Utilities: Gas and Electric
Marathon Oil
Sylvia Kerrigan
438
227
Mining, Crude-Oil Production
Hanesbrands
Joia Johnson
448
490
Apparel
Realogy Holdings
Marilyn Wasser
449
488
Real Estate
J.M. Smucker
Jeannette Knudsen
452
467
Food Consumer Products
Clorox
Laura Stein
455
469
Household and Personal Products
Ingredion
Christine Castellano
456
462
Food Production
Peabody Energy
A. Verona Dorch
458
398
Mining, Crude-Oil Production
Host Hotels & Resorts
Elizabeth Abdoo
472
485
Real Estate
Owens Corning
Ava Harter
480
498
Building Materials, Glass
NiSource
Carrie Hightman
483
418
Utilities: Gas and Electric
ABM Industries
Sarah Hlavinka McConnell
485
515
Diversified Outsourcing Services
Booz Allen Hamilton Holding
Nancy Laben
487
475
Information Technology Services
Lam Research
Sarah O`Dowd
491
563
Semiconductors and Other Electronic Components
Fiserv
Lynn S. McCreary
492
512
Financial Data Services
Cincinnati Financial
Lisa Love
499
525
Insurance: Property and Casualty (Stock)
Burlington Stores
Janet Dhillon
500
532
Specialty Retailers: Apparel
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candidate to that of an Olympic athlete competing for a gold medal. “The qualities that got you into the race aren’t necessarily what set you above other highly qualified lawyers,” Barner said. “Being a good GC is more than just having great legal skills and acumen. It’s having soft skills and another layer to yourself.”
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1000, a spike from the 26 a year ago. Among the 34 companies that employ minorities, eight either returned to the list after an absence—Verifone Systems (971), for example—or broke in for the first time. Of these eight, only Shyam Reddy of BlueLinx Holdings (991) was hired to his position within the past two years. These 34 legal chiefs are composed of 23 men and 11 women, the first time that female minorities have pierced double digits. When broken down by race, there are 14 Asian-Pacific Americans—four of whom are South Asian—10 African-Americans, eight Hispanics and two multi-ethnics. The eight Hispanics, however, include no newcomers. “This is really disheartening,” said MCCA’s Lee. “We must make consistent and collective efforts to improve Hispanic advancement across all corporations.” Meanwhile, 99 Fortune® 1000 corporations employ
Women Fortune® 501–1000
female legal chiefs across all ethnicities. NuStar Energy (948) has two, female co-general counsel, bringing the head count in this cohort to 100, an increase of four from a year ago. However, 17 of these 99 companies are either Fortune® 1000 first-timers or, like restaurant chain Cheesecake Factory (941), have returned after an absence. Only three of these 17 legal leaders assumed their posts within the past 13 months, another sign that female advancement remains limited. One reason behind the high turnover of companies in this roster is the brisk pace of mergers and acquisitions across a gamut of industries. Financial software provider SunGard, purification products supplier Pall and insurer StanCorp were among the many female GC-led companies from MCCA’s previous survey that have been acquired by other businesses.
2015 RANK
2014 RANK
Eileen Akerson
501
424
Engineering, Construction
Neiman Marcus Group
Tracy Preston
502
533
Specialty Retailers: Apparel
Robert Half International
Evelyn Crane-Oliver
503
552
Temporary Help
Brookdale Senior Living
Geri Krupp-Gordon
515
639
Health Care: Medical Facilities
Northern Trust
Susan C. Levy
520
571
Commercial Banks
Zoetis
Heidi Chen
527
538
Pharmaceuticals
Polaris Industries
Stacy Bogart
528
574
Transportation Equipment
Quad/Graphics
Jennifer Kent
530
531
Publishing, Printing
Post Holdings
Deidre Gray
535
892
Food Consumer Products
Flowserve
Carey O'Connor
539
528
Industrial Machinery
Hasbro
Barbara Finigan
550
595
Toys, Sporting Goods
Intuit
Laura Fennell
552
572
Computer Software
Hyatt Hotels
Rena Hozore Reiss
562
583
Hotels, Casinos, Resorts
Coach
Nancy Axilrod¹
575
535
Apparel
Graphic Packaging Holding
Lauren Tashma
577
599
Packaging, Containers
Tiffany & Co.
Leigh Harlan
582
597
Specialty Retailers: Other
Avaya
Amy Fliegelman Olli
584
581
Network and Other Communications Equipment
Wynn Resorts
Kim Sinatra
585
477
Hotels, Casinos, Resorts
Bemis
Sheri Edison
586
534
Packaging, Containers
Colfax
A. Lynne Puckett
596
559
Industrial Machinery
ULTA Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance
Jodi Caro
602
709
Specialty Retailers: Other
Dynegy
Catherine C. James
606
865
Energy
USG
Michelle M. Warner¹
616
653
Building Materials, Glass
Xylem
Claudia Toussaint
622
626
Industrial Machinery
Albemarle
Karen Narwold
624
837
Chemicals
COMPANY
GENERAL COUNSEL
KBR
26 D I V E R S I T Y & T H E B A R NOV.DEC 2016 MCCA.COM
INDUSTRY
The Dialog Isn’t About Just Race and Gender
MCCA’s Lee is calling upon corporations to step up their workplace diversity and inclusiveness efforts beyond women and people of color. Openly lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals ought to not only be welcomed as employees, Lee said, but they should also be encouraged to express this part of their identities in office settings. As examples, LGBT employees and executives should feel comfortable displaying photos of same-sex partners and spouses on their desks and bringing their partners to company parties—without wondering or worrying about potential fallout. Lee’s words coincide with efforts to try expanding MCCA’s survey in future years to include LGBT general counsel. At least two in-house leaders self-identify as LGBT—Stacey Friedman of banking giant JPMorgan Chase & Co. (23),
Roselyn Bar
641
764
Building Materials, Glass
April Miller Boise¹
647
641
Motor Vehicles and Parts
FMC
Andrea Utecht
654
613
Chemicals
Analog Devices
Margaret Seif
659
780
Semiconductors and Other Electronic Components
PolyOne
Lisa Kunkle
668
638
Chemicals
Cooper Standard
Aleksandra Miziolek
670
707
Motor Vehicles and Parts
CME Group
Kathleen Cronin
671
732
Securities
TD Ameritrade Holding
Ellen Koplow
680
727
Securities
Helmerich & Payne
Cara Hair
692
655
Oil and Gas Equipment, Services
IASIS Healthcare
Karen Abbott
697
771
Health Care: Medical Facilities
Tempur Sealy International
Lou Jones
699
758
Home Equipment, Furnishings
CONSOL Energy
Stephanie Gill¹
706
652
Mining, Crude-Oil Production
Time
Lauren Ezrol Klein¹
707
Steelcase
Lizbeth O`Shaughnessy
716
759
Home Equipment, Furnishings
International Flavors & Fragrances
Anne Chwat
720
737
Chemicals
Scripps Networks Interactive
Cynthia Gibson
722
820
Entertainment
Brinker International
Scarlett May
731
777
Food Services
Sabre
Rachel Gonzalez
736
763
Internet Services and Retailing
Graham Holdings
Nicole Maddrey
737
670
Education
Green Plains
Michelle Mapes
742
712
Energy
Gannett
Barbara Wall
752
LINN Energy
Candice J. Wells
754
520
Mining, Crude-Oil Production
KapStone Paper & Packaging
Kathryn Ingraham
774
925
Packaging & Containers
Paychex
Stephanie Schaeffer
783
860
Diversified Outsourcing Services
New Jersey Resources
Mariellen Dugan
784
649
Energy
Martin Marietta Materials Meritor
INDUSTRY
Publishing, Printing
Publishing, Printing
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Also, the ongoing slump in crude oil markets resulted in numerous companies in natural gas production, drilling, pipelines and mining to tumble out of the list, irrespective of who the GC is. Pipelines company SemGroup and oil and gas producer Newfield Exploration are among those absent. Most of the corporations in such industries that remain here and even in the Fortune® 500 slipped in the standings, a few plummeting more than 200 places in rank. Sagging revenues mean volatility will likely recur. The national average price for gas during Labor Day weekend, often considered the end of the summer driving season, was only $2.20 per gallon—about $1.20 cheaper than it was in 2014. The global market, meanwhile, remains soft because vehicles are becoming increasingly energy-efficient and the economies in European and developing nations are still weak.
M C C A’ S 1 7 T H A N N U A L G E N E R A L
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and Michael Everett, who’s co-GC of VCA (935), a chain of veterinary hospitals, labs and other health care services for pets. In order to be counted in future MCCA surveys, LGBT legal chiefs at Fortune® 500 and Fortune® 1000 companies are encouraged to e-mail KimHoward@mcca.com with subject line, “Annual GC Survey.”
Career Moves
Besides Oshkosh’s Ignacio Cortina, other male minorities who have been hired as, or promoted to general counsel recently include Brian Ellis at Danaher (133), Duane Holloway at Ascena Retail Group (523) and Michael Tang at Agilent Technologies (589). As another member of this leadership fleet, Bradley Gayton shifted gears along his in-house route at Ford Motor (9) and now steers its law department.
Carlos L. Rodríguez-Ramos, who was acting GC at Triple-S Management (749) for about two years, was tapped for the insurance company’s permanent position. His predecessor, Roberto García-Rodríguez, is currently chief executive officer there. Manish Shanbhag rose to chief legal officer of Edgewell Personal Care (856), which distributes sunscreen and other hygiene products. Edgewell was spun off from its parent, Energizer Holdings, where Shanbhag had been a deputy GC. Some of the men now carrying new business cards have appeared in other MCCA surveys with different employers. Formerly of Xerox, Don Liu joined retail mainstay Target (38), and Kirkland Hicks jumped from what is now Willis Towers Watson to insurer Lincoln National (205). Similarly, quite a few women, including non-minorities, have made lateral moves.
Women Fortune® 501–1000 (continued) 2015 RANK
2014 RANK
Brandi Galvin Morandi
786
884
Telecommunications
TransDigm Group
Halle F. Terrion
788
904
Aerospace and Defense
Hain Celestial Group
Denise Faltischek
795
967
Food Consumer Products
WGL Holdings
Leslie T. Thornton
802
801
Energy
Kennametal
Michelle R. Keating¹
806
786
Industrial Machinery
Chico's FAS
Susan Lanigan¹
807
819
Specialty Retailers: Apparel
KAR Auction Services
Becca Polak
808
905
Wholesalers: Diversified
WABCO Holdings
Lisa J. Brown
811
785
Motor Vehicles and Parts
Alere
Ellen Chiniara
818
766
Medical Products and Equipment
Mattress Firm Holding
Kindel L. Elam
827
Teradata
Laura Nyquist
834
809
Computer Software
J.Crew Group
Maria Di Lorenzo
840
841
Specialty Retailers: Apparel
Great Plains Energy
Heather Humphrey
843
846
Utilities: Gas and Electric
Edwards Lifesciences
Aimee Weisner
845
918
Medical Products and Equipment
ITT
Mary Beth Gustafsson
847
823
Industrial Machinery
Tops Holding II
Lynne Burgess
849
864
Food and Drug Stores
Southwest Gas
Karen Haller
851
976
Utilities: Gas and Electric
Medical Mutual of Ohio
Patricia Decensi
852
879
Insurance: Life, Health (Mutual)
A. Schulman
Andrean Horton¹
865
883
Chemicals
Public Storage
Lily Yan Hughes
870
952
Miscellaneous
Donaldson
Amy Becker
873
873
Industrial Machinery
Pool
Jennifer Neil
875
937
Wholesalers: Diversified
Express
Lacey J. Bundy
876
965
Specialty Retailers: Apparel
Tetra Tech
Janis Salin
892
870
Engineering, Construction
Teledyne Technologies
Melanie Cibik
893
898
Scientific, Photographic and Control Equipment
COMPANY
GENERAL COUNSEL
Equinix
28 D I V E R S I T Y & T H E B A R NOV.DEC 2016 MCCA.COM
INDUSTRY
Specialty Retailers: Other
that, Avon. Western Refining (289) tapped Melissa M. Buhrig as its top lawyer once it acquired Northern Tier Energy, where Buhrig was chief counsel. Denise Cade left SunCoke Energy to hammer out answers to legal questions at IDEX (964), a manufacturer of pumps for energy markets and equipment for firefighting and other rescues. In retail, Elisa D. Garcia moved to Macy’s (103). Garcia was most recently the legal chief at Office Depot and before that, Domino’s Pizza. Susan Lanigan, who has appeared in MCCA’s survey with Dollar General, joined women’s clothier Chico’s FAS (807). Across a spectrum of U.S. industries, other women who have been hired or promoted to chief legal counsel include Stacey Friedman at JPMorgan Chase & Co. (23), Suzanne Gagle at Marathon Petroleum (42), Anat Hakim at WellCare Health Plans (202), Louise Pentland at PayPal (307),
Donna Negrotto¹
895
935
Hotels, Casinos, Resorts
Brocade Communications Systems
Nell O'Donnell
904
947
Network and Other Communications Equipment
Genesis Energy
Kristen O. Jesulaitis
908
633
Pipelines
Vijaya Gadde
914
Internet Services and Retailing
Akamai Technologies
Melanie Haratunian
919
Computer Software
Kirby
Amy Husted
930
Microchip Technology
Kimberly van Herk
931
Semiconductors and Other Electronic Components
VCA
Rachael Jeck
935
Health Care: Medical Facilities
hhgregg
Candace Bankovich¹
937
Cheesecake Factory
Debby Zurzolo
941
Rexnord
Patricia Whaley
947
986
Industrial Machinery
NuStar Energy
Amy Perry, Karen Thompson
948
741
Pipelines
On Assignment
Jennifer Hankes Painter
951
Tower International
Nanette Dudek
957
Wabash National
Erin J. Roth
961
IDEX
Denise Cade¹
964
Rackspace Holdings
Tiffany Lathe
970
Internet Services and Retailing
Genesee & Wyoming
Allison Fergus
972
Railroads
Hill-Rom
Deborah Rasin¹
977
Medical Products and Equipment
Providence Service
Sophia Tawil¹
978
Health Care: Pharmacy and Other Services
Hospitality Properties Trust
Jennifer Clark
988
Real Estate
Revlon
Mitra Hormozi
992
Household and Personal Products
EP Energy
Marguerite Woung-Chapman
995
Briggs & Stratton
Kathryn Buono
1000
Pinnacle Entertainment
847
914
INDUSTRY
Miscellaneous
Specialty Retailers: Other Food Services
Temporary Help 956
Motor Vehicles and Parts Motor Vehicles and Parts
969
721
Industrial Machinery
Mining, Crude-Oil Production Industrial Machinery
New to list
1
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L-3 Communications (245) launched a new chapter of Ann Davidson’s career, piggybacking on her experiences piloting law departments at seven other aerospace and defense companies, most recently Exelis. Under Kim Rivera’s leadership, DaVita HealthCare Partners has been in MCCA’s survey multiple times. When Hewlett-Packard split into two corporations, Rivera became chief legal officer of computer titan HP (20). Meanwhile, Kathleen Alyce Waters parlayed her experience from Health Net to replace Rivera at DaVita (200). Waters wasn’t the only health care legal chief to switch addresses. Deborah Rasin departed what is now Dentsply Sirona for Hill-Rom (977). Despite sluggishness in the energy sector, some women landed opportunities to fuel corporate law departments with fresh perspectives. Petroleum refining giant Tesoro (98) hired Kim Rucker, formerly of Kraft Foods and before
M C C A’ S 1 7 T H A N N U A L G E N E R A L
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Catharine Ellingsen at Republic Services (312), Amanda McMillian at Anadarko Petroleum (324), Stacy Cozad at Spirit Aerosystems (389), Nancy Axilrod at Coach (575), Michelle M. Warner at USG (616), Stephanie Gill at CONSOL Energy (706), Lauren Ezrol Klein at Time (707), Donna Negrotto at Pinnacle Entertainment (895) and Sophia Tawil at Providence Service (978). At hhgregg (937), Candace Bankovich replaced Heather Cameron Greenawald, who left the consumer electronics and appliances chain. As Diversity & the Bar went to press, Michelle R. Keating was interim general counsel at industrial toolmaker Kennametal (806). Susan Jacobson joins this list as deputy general counsel at Cardinal Health (21), where she has been running the law department since the GC left the company. The same holds true for Carolyn Campbell at Quanta Services (352). Other women have departed the roster. Audrey Strauss retired from Alcoa after it split into two businesses, one of which is Arconic. Kate Hargrove Ramundo, the former GC of retail clothier ANN, became the top lawyer at Arconic, which focuses on aerospace and automotive products. After 17 years as chief legal officer at Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co., Patricia Hatler retired and moved to private practice. Also retired from corporate life is M. Suzanne Reidman, who was Kindred Healthcare’s general counsel for 16 years and concurrently its diversity chief for five years. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans promoted Teresa Rasmussen from GC to president of its core fraternal business unit. A financial services organization, Thrivent is the largest fraternal benefit society in this country. Teri Plummer McClure, who was GC of United Parcel Service for nine years, left its law department but remains at the company as human resources and labor relations chief. Other departures include Stacey Doré from Energy Future Holdings, Shawn Soderberg from Bio-Rad Laboratories, Maria Green from Illinois Tool Works, Heather Russell from Fifth Third Bancorp and Lucy Fato from S&P Global. Russell is now in private practice. Among minority men, Arthur Chong retired from what is now Broadcom Limited, shifting to private practice, and Hoyt Zia retired from Hawaiian Airlines. After 28 years at Smart & Final stores—and its top lawyer since1991—Donald Alvarado has retired from the retailer.
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The Clarion Call
This year’s 90 minority GCs—33 of them women—and 224 female GCs—33 of them nonwhite—across the 1,000 highest-revenue corporations represent high-water marks in the history of the survey. Certainly, progress has occurred since MCCA’s founding nearly 20 years ago. For example, MCCA’s survey a decade ago identified only six Fortune® 500 women of color. Teri Plummer McClure, who had just been promoted by United Parcel Service, was the sole newcomer. A 2006 Diversity & the Bar article stated that McClure was the first female, minority newcomer since 2003—when Kellye Walker joined BJ’s Wholesale Club, the first of four companies where she has been a GC. Yet the absence of minority women among newcomer GCs didn’t end in the mid-2000s. None were in last year’s Fortune® 500 class. A couple of them made lateral moves—such as Walker from American Water Works to military shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls Industries (378). The 2014 class wasn’t much larger: Audrey Boone Tillman’s promotion at Aflac (135) made her the only female, minority newcomer. About 25 percent of Fortune® 500 employers have appointed new GCs since mid-2014. On average, that’s one legal chief every seven days. So corporate leaders cannot blame sparse opportunities. “This isn’t a moment for self-congratulation,” said MetLife’s Anzaldua, emphasizing that the legal profession “is still underperforming as an industry.” Meanwhile, Fortune® 500 companies alone are responsible for two-thirds of the U.S. gross domestic product. As the U.S. population becomes increasingly nonwhite— approximately 36 percent are now minority—MCCA keeps pressing for greater diversity and inclusiveness in corporate leadership ranks. MCCA’s Lee noted how the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was not signed into law until an entire century after the Civil War ended. She and others are determined not to let as many years elapse before parity is attained in corporate America. “We can’t become complacent,” Lee said. “With collaboration, we can do better, because the pace of change is simply not fast enough.” ■ LYDIA LUM was honored as national journalist of the year by the Organization of Chinese Americans. Now a freelance writer and editor, Lydia (lydialum999@yahoo.com) is a former reporter for the Houston Chronicle and Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Executive Vice President, Senior Vice President, Secretary and General Counsel Emerson
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And while she presumes Emerson knew what they were getting with her, she was met with some surprises. “There was a lot more work than I’d expected. But I also felt a large sense of relief—I no longer had to worry about hours and business development that’s so important at firms. I half joked that I should have gone in-house earlier.” Her eight years as general manager acquainted Bosco with Emerson’s business side, she adds. “As general counsel, it’s imperative to understand all aspects of the business. It’s not enough to be a good lawyer. Because the business is complex and international, any one issue has multiple points, and legal is just one part of it.” Bosco grew up in South Bend, Indiana, where her father, an immigrant from Shanghai, was employed as a professor. Her mother was born in Hong Kong. And like the children of many immigrants, Bosco was pushed to succeed. “I liked to talk and argue so my parents directed me toward law. The other only other option would have been medicine. That was my identity growing up, an identity that I readily accepted.” Looking back, Bosco said being Asian and a woman has not been a problem at Emerson. “The biggest challenge has been not having an engineering background in a very engineering focused company.”
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EFORE TAKING ON THE ROLE of Emerson’s chief legal officer at its St. Louis headquarters in August, Sara Yang Bosco had been out of the country for 25 years, and not worked in a legal job for the last eight. Previously based in Hong Kong, she led Emerson’s corporate operations and strategic development in the Asia-Pacific region since 2008. Initially, she joined the multi-billion engineering giant in 2005 as general counsel, Asia-Pacific, a position that required her to oversee the company’s legal affairs in the Asia-Pacific region, as well as provide legal counsel on a wide range of matters such as mergers and acquisitions, compliance, dispute resolution, and corporate and commercial operational matters. And before that Bosco supported the corporation as external legal counsel in her capacity as a partner with the Hong Kong offices of the Baker & McKenzie and Perkins Coie law firms. “Emerson’s growth in Asia corresponded with my time in Hong Kong and the development of my private practice,” explained Bosco. “I did their China transactions for a long time before going in-house. They offered me an in-house position more than once. The third time I reasoned that if this was something I wanted to do I better accept because this might be their final offer. “I felt I had nothing to lose.” She explained, “I brought a lot to the job. I’d been practicing for over 20 years in private practice so I came with certain level of self-assurance. This confidence and feeling of freedom liberated me to be more vocal and willing to point out problems. I wasn’t going to change too much from the person they already knew.”
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Breaking Barriers, One Person at a Time
Elisa D. Garcia Chief Legal Officer Macy’s, Inc.
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LISA GARCIA JOINED MACY’S, INC. as chief legal officer in September. Since then she has been busy learning about the multi-billion dollar New York-based company and how it purchases, distribute and sells products and most importantly how it makes money. “I am learning about our legal and compliance structure and risks and I am getting to know all of my legal team members and peers. It is an exciting time, with lots of travel.” Prior to Macy’s, Garcia was with Office Depot in Boca Raton, Florida. She joined the corporation in 2007 as EVP/General Counsel and Secretary, and became chief legal officer in 2013. For the seven years prior to Office Depot, Garcia was EVP/General Counsel and Secretary of Domino’s Pizza, Inc. Before that, she served as regional counsel, Latin America for Philip Morris International, International and Corporate Counsel for GAF Corporation, and a corporate finance associate with the law firm of Willkie Farr & Gallagher. “Retail has a number of business challenges. We need to leverage our bricks and mortar, as this is something that our online competitors do not have, and we need to compete vigorously with our traditional competitors and try to differentiate our offering or experience. This leads to different work for the in-house team. We are doing different types of transactions and we need to ensure we are reviewing legal and compliance issues associated with the new way our business is operating.” Before going in-house, Garcia enjoyed the five years she spent at a firm: I loved every minute of that experience and learned how to lawyer. I
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found that what I enjoyed most was learning a client’s business and helping structure programs that identified and mitigated risk. I enjoyed corporate compliance, so in-house was a natural progression for me.” She adds, “I never ‘plotted’ a career, but I did take advantage of many opportunities and focused on learning many areas of the law and the business so that I could be an asset to the company. I developed as a generalist because of my inquisitive nature, and that enabled me to grow to a GC role.” A New York City native with a law degree is from the St. John’s University School of Law in New York, Garcia returns to her hometown as chief legal officer of Macy’s, Inc., one of the nation’s premier retailers, and fiscal 2015 sales of $27 billion. The company operates about 870 stores in 45 states including the iconic Herald Square location in New York City, the District of Columbia, Guam and Puerto Rico. Ultimately, says Garcia, she has surpassed the dreams her parents held for her. “Education as ‘a ticket’ was thing my parents stressed. My dad left school in the 8th grade to help care for his family and I watched him struggle to get his GED when I was a child. I lost my dad when I was 19 and he never saw what I have achieved—but my mom has, and is very proud.”
General Counsel and Vice president Ford Motor Company
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while I’m ambitious, I recognized that I work in an office of incredibly talented people. So, I’ve always focused primarily on trying to develop my lawyering and leadership skills so that I could be considered a viable candidate for this position. Growing up in Syracuse, New York, Gayton was encouraged to do well in school. His father and mother (an engineer and nurse, respectively) were supportive and valued education, and he credits his fourth grade teacher, Rosemary Dugan, with playing a large role in his academic development: “She singled me out as a talented student and tutored me on her own time by giving fifth grade math and reading assignments, which she would review with me after school 3 days a week. From that point forward “I loved school and dug in academically.” Gayton holds a bachelor’s degree in business and a law degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo. Diversity and inclusion is important to Ford, says Gayton. “As we’re recruiting I make an effort to ensure that our pool of applicants is diverse. But once here, I don’t differentiate in terms of development. I feel equally obligated to develop all members of the office.” Gayton particularly enjoys the people development aspect of his job: “I like watching people grow and being part of that,” he said. “It’s important for the organization. There are quite a few people who spend large parts of their career at Ford Motor Company, including much of our OGC leadership team—half of which also came from the summer clerk program.”
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HEN BRADLEY GAYTON was named Ford Motor Company’s general counsel in January, he was already familiar with the multi-billion corporation. In fact, Ford Motor is the only place that Gayton has ever worked as a lawyer. He joined Ford’s Office of General Counsel in 1991. “I spent the summer here as a second year law student and after that summer they offered me a full-time position to commence after graduation,” he recalled. “I took the bar on a Wednesday/Thursday and started work the following Monday. I needed to get to work, and I’ve been here ever since.” Over the years he held positions of increasing responsibility within the Office of General Counsel including serving as director of Legal Affairs – Canada, Mexico and South America with responsibility for managing all aspects of Ford’s legal matters related to regional manufacturing, sales and service, and distribution activities. He also served as assistant tax officer with responsibility for U.S. federal and state compliance, analysis, transfer pricing, and all aspects of global indirect taxes including litigation. Prior to his current position, Gayton was corporate secretary and assistant general counsel for four years. Before that he served as assistant general counsel and assistant corporate secretary for a year. Today as general counsel, Gayton leads the company’s litigation, tax, corporate and intellectual property efforts. He also advises the company’s board of directors and senior management on a wide range of legal issues, and oversees its General Auditor’s. There wasn’t an exact moment when Gayton set his sights on his current position. “I can’t remember one day deciding I wanted to be GC. But I’ve always had ambition to succeed at everything I do. And
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Breaking Barriers, One Person at a Time
Amy E. Weaver
Executive Vice President and General Counsel Salesforce.com
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S GENERAL COUNSEL OF SALESFORCE. COM (a San Francisco-based global cloud computing company) since 2013, Amy Weaver enjoys the eclecticism of the job. “I have to do everything in the legal field and that includes three things a day that I never saw coming, everything from acquisitions to civil rights in Indiana to European privacy matters. “We were on the front lines working against legislation in Indiana that we thought was discriminatory to the LGBTQ community,” said Weaver. “Equality is one of our core values at Salesforce; we were concerned about that legislation because of the impact on our employees and customers, and couldn’t not get involved.” Prior to joining Salesforce, Weaver was executive vice president and general counsel of Univar Inc., where she was responsible globally for all legal and corporate affairs, governance, corporate transactions, compliance, litigation and employment law matters. Before Univar, Weaver was senior vice president and deputy general counsel at Expedia, Inc. Weaver was the first in her extended family of 14 lawyers to go in-house when she joined Expedia, Inc., a global travel brand, in 2005. “Expedia combined technology and travel—two of my greatest interests. I went in-house and never looked back.” Mentoring and fostering diversity are important to Weaver. “I encourage young attorneys to look outside their practice area, their background or their gender in seeking mentors,” she said. “It’s important they find confidence in expressing themselves their own way, so that they can bring their own diversity of thought to the job. I get concerned with mentor programs that welcome diverse attorneys and then
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push them to act the same. It’s not true diversity and inclusion to say that in order to succeed you have to model your behavior on everyone who came in front of you. Trust your own gifts, skills and style.” As an undergrad at Wellesley College, Weaver was looking toward a legal career. She went on to earn a JD from Harvard Law School. After law school, Weaver practiced law at Cravath, Swaine & Moore and at Perkins Coie LLP. Prior to entering private practice, she served as a legislative aide to a member of the Hong Kong Legislative Council and as a clerk on the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. “There must be a genetic component to the law. Growing up outside of Seattle, surrounded by family in the profession, I don’t remember ever not wanting to be a lawyer,” she said. “There’s a dignity to the law. I felt it was a natural career progression for me.” “My husband, who is not a lawyer, says my family gatherings can be about as much fun as attending a bar association meeting,” she adds. As GC at Salesforce.com, Weaver is also a member of the executive committee: “Our CEO expects everyone on the committee to understand the business and corporate model, and to meet and talk to customers. I’m always learning here and with constant innovation, things are always changing.” PATRICK FOLLIARD (epf2810@gmail.com) is a freelance writer based in Silver Spring, Md.
Legal MindsE By Lydia Lum
How Pursuits of Passion Can Boost Careers in Law
IN RECENT MONTHS, Richard Q. Russeth has noticed patterns in the content of depositions and other documents involving a manufacturer that his employer, Leprino Foods, is suing. The patterns are within a mountain of complicated evidence that delves into metallurgy, chemical reactions and engineering, all areas that Russeth, who has worked in-house at various food and ingredient production companies for 30-plus years, has limited familiarity with.
But he credits skills honed in his photography hobby with sharpening his legal abilities. “I’m far better able to manage outside counsel as we prepare for trial,” said Russeth, referring to how photography has helped him as vice president and general counsel at the Denver-based Leprino. “In order to shoot street photos, I must react quickly. After a while, I can see patterns to a good photograph and shoot without thinking. Similarly, I have become more skilled (at work) at catching patterns in the evidence when reviewing depositions related to lawsuits and contractual matters.” Russeth and others say that pursuits of passion outside of their jobs in the legal realm can often build proficiencies and experiences transferable to their careers. Just ask Khiara M. Bridges. A freelance, classically trained ballet dancer, she began lessons at age three and never gave up her pointe shoes. Nowadays, she performs almost monthly with one of the many dance companies in the Northeast. When she was an early-career law school instructor, Bridges gauged students’ facial expresRichard Russeth, vice president sions and body language to deterand general counsel at mine whether her lecture style Leprino, uses his photography was effective. hobby to spot patterns in “Just as I saw how my dancing the evidence when reviewing engaged an audience, I could see depositions related to lawsuits and contractual matters.
En Pointe how my teaching worked in the classroom,” said Bridges, who’s professor of law and associate professor of anthropology at Boston University and this year, has been visiting professor at Yale Law School. “I needed to draw my students into the narrative and make a connection, not just give information in class.”
Outside Hobbies Can Also Increase Confidence at Work
Khiara Bridges, a classically trained ballet dancer, used her observations about how her dance routines impacted the audience to gauge how her teaching worked teaching law students.
“You might not be good at the Socratic method yet, but perhaps you’re a good pianist,” Bridges said of young faculty, adding that parallel tendencies hold true for practicing lawyers. “Reminding yourself of that can increase your patience to become better at the Socratic method.” The spectrum of hobbies that lawyers and law professors juggle outside of work seems boundless, said Richard C. Hsu, a partner and global head of intellectual property and technology transactions at the Menlo Park, Calif., office of Shearman & Sterling LLP. Hsu’s hobby is interviewing lawyers about their hobbies for his podcast series, “Hsu Untied.” The series lets him explore modern communication technologies. Lawyers whom Hsu has interviewed include an opera singer, a standup comedienne, a winemaker, a base jumper and skydiver, a belly dancer, a hospice volunteer, a beekeeper, an extreme cyclist and a magician. Some of the passions have blossomed to the level that Hsu believes a few MCCA.COM NOV.DEC 2016 D I V E R S I T Y
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Richard C. Hsu, a partner and global head of intellectual property and technology transactions with Shearman & Sterling LLP, created “Hsu Untied,” a podcast series where he interviews lawyers about their hobbies.
of the lawyers could seamlessly change professions if they wanted to. “This has opened my eyes to the many talents of lawyers,” Hsu said of his podcasts. He and others with full-time careers offer the following suggestions for managing hobbies that lawyers want to pursue every waking moment: ■ Be realistic. Russeth tacks an extra day onto out-of-town business trips to shoot photos— unless he must return to the office immediately. ■ Care for yourself. Bridges tries to train and rehearse six days a week. But if she is nursing an injury, or if university obligations conflict with her training schedule, she backs off from ballet. After all, rest is part of her regimen. ■■Don’t succumb to fear of failure. Russeth began photography without contemplating where it might lead, recalling, “I charged ahead and had fun. Less than a year later, I had my first exhibition. If I hadn’t started photography on my own, the invitation to exhibit never would have happened.”
Maintain Professional and Personal Boundaries
However, Russeth maintains firm boundaries between photography and his job. Because Leprino Foods manufactures mozzarella cheese for major pizza restaurant chains, he avoids photographing anything that, or anyone who has a politically sensitive connection to the dairy industry, for example. Whenever he inter-
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acts with collectors buying one of his prints or people in the photography and art world, he tends to limit description of his occupation to merely “lawyer.” He avoids using the Leprino name to prevent misconceptions that the family for whom his company is named has endorsed or is involved with his photography. “I put the company first,” Russeth said. “I need to be sure that my actions as a photographer do not reflect poorly on my company.” Bridges, meanwhile, agrees that parameters are important. Officials of a dance company once alerted her law school about an upcoming production that included Bridges. Law school officials posted the news on social media, but neither they nor the dance company had told Bridges, who asked for removal of the post when she found out. “I don’t want my employer using my being a ballet dancer to raise the institution’s public profile,” she said. “I blend my two lives on my own terms.” Despite keeping photography distinct from his day job, Russeth appreciates how his hobby has unexpectedly boosted his legal competencies. He recalls how shortly after becoming Leprino’s legal chief in 2005, a Fortune® 500 energy company sued his employer. Russeth lacked expertise in the energy industry. Not surprisingly, he struggled with evidence in that case, making it tougher to offer input to outside counsel hired to represent Leprino. Although Russeth’s company prevailed at trial back then, the photography skills he has since developed have improved his speed-reading abilities when reviewing evidence at work. His proficiency at noticing patterns within the defendant’s e-mails in the current case has enabled him to provide outside counsel more input than he did in the long-ago energy case. He and others remind lawyers that even though hobbies are pursued for relaxation, there’s always a chance they can directly impact careers. As Bridges puts it, “Passion doesn’t necessarily have an oppositional relationship that antagonizes a person’s work life. If you insert passion into one area of your life, this can improve and reinvigorate the quality of other areas of your life.” ■ A FREELANCE writer and editor, Lydia Lum (lydialum999@yahoo. com) is a former reporter for the Houston Chronicle and Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
MCCA LMJ Scholars 2010
Atticus Lee By GLENN COOK
Atticus Lee has spent her life on the move, from Taiwan to Long Island to California to Texas, so it should come as no surprise that she took time off between jobs to travel.
LEE,
A 2010 LMJ SCHOLARSHIP WINNER and 2013 graduate of the University of California-Davis School of Law, finished a federal clerkship with U.S. District Judge Vanessa D. Gilmore in August (2016) and left on a journey that took her to seven countries in seven weeks. Seeing what she describes as “diverse human and geographical landscapes,” Lee said the long
trip abroad was key to her evolution as a lawyer, advocate and writer. “I’ve been exposed to so many interesting and diverse cultures,” said Lee, who now works as an attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division. “I definitely wouldn’t trade my luck for anything in the world.” MCCA.COM NOV.DEC 2016
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Like many of the 180-plus law school students who’ve received the Minority Corporate Counsel Association scholarship since 2005, Lee has had to overcome significant obstacles in her path. Openly gay and a long-time LGBT activist, she is an immigrant who moved from Taiwan to the U.S. as a child, only to face bullying as well as racial stereotypes and slurs. But instead of withering under those and other pressures, she has been resilient and tenacious in pursuing a legal
Two of Lee’s mentors, Stanford Medical School professor Carol Winograd and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Adam Johnson, tried to talk her out of law school. career focused on helping others in similar situations. “Being the youngest child of immigrants and being a first-generation immigrant myself, I have a unique appreciation for the American system, the relative lack of corruption in the American system, and the civilian experience of justice served,” she said.
Pursuing the Law Was a Lifelong Passion
Lee spent her early childhood in the countryside of southern Taiwan, moving to suburban Long Island in elementary school to live with her aunt and uncle. Having to learn a new language and growing up away from her parents, who remained in Taiwan, was “definitely rough on a kid.” “I definitely faced a lot of typical issues that youth from immigrant or low-income communities face, but it also strengthened my own identity as a queer Asian-American woman of color,” Lee said. Lee became active in LGBT and gender issues while studying human biology and creative writing at Stanford University, an academic path she describes as “a pretty special choose-your-own-adventure experience.” At Stanford, she worked extensively on efforts to end women’s footbinding in rural China and represented transgender and queer students on the Stanford Genderblind Task Force. She also wrote essays for the New York Times on gender and sexuality. “The human biology major gave students the freedom to customize and design the elements of both hard biological science and political social science into a comprehensive course of study for three years,” she said. “So what might sound like a straight-forward premed track was actually an intersectional study of human gender and sexuality, American sociopolitical
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policy in the 20th century, and a genetic study of the biological differences that drive—and maybe shouldn’t drive—our society’s treatment of sex and gender.” Two of Lee’s mentors, Stanford Medical School professor Carol Winograd and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Adam Johnson, tried to talk her out of law school. Winograd, who “really opened my eyes to the work to be done in human society,” thought she should be a professional writer. Johnson, a creative writing professor at Stanford, helped Lee develop her personal statement for law school while trying to “convince me not to attend.” But she would not be dissuaded from pursuing a career in the law, which she describes as a “lifelong passion.” The most significant barrier was the “astronomical cost,” which is where MCCA comes into the picture.
LMJ Scholarship Provides Financial Freedom to Choose Civil Rights Interest
Started 12 years ago, the LMJ Scholarship is designed to help law students who are highly qualified but face steep financial hardship. Recipients receive $10,000 for the first year of law school and can qualify for the same amount for their second and third years. Much of MCCA’s fundraising for the scholarship program occurs at the General Counsel Summit each April. In November, MCCA launched the LMJ Scholarship Fund Holiday Drive, which allows anyone to donate. “The LMJ scholarship was an incredibly generous grant that enabled me to apply for public interest and unpaid internships that would further my civil rights interests, instead of being financially pressured into going the ‘Big Law’ route like so many of my classmates,” said Lee, one of 15 recipients in 2010, the sixth group to earn the honor. “They also started law school with a public interest vision but had to choose high-paying corporate positions in order to manage their academic loans.” While in law school, Lee continued to merge her interests, serving as the clinic director for the Sacramento LGBT Community Clinic and senior articles editor for the UC-Davis Journal of Environmental Law. She also wrote essays about gender and LGBT issues for a variety of publications, including Ms. Magazine, but still faced the prejudice she encountered as a child. “Even as late as law school at Davis I endured racial slurs at the hands of classmates, but I took refuge in my studies, activism, and in wonderful professors, pioneering scholars who were also people of color,” she said. “Nonfiction writing was this creative outlet that really helped me get through the craziness that is law school.”
Post-graduation, she moved to Houston, where she worked as a clerk for Gilmore, a federal judge who presides over the Southern District of Texas. “My clerkship was such a varied learning experience, and I learned an incredible amount about the practice of law, the legal profession and all its quirks and dusty corners,” she said. “And at the same time also faced the criminal justice system in an up close and personal way that drove me to become a civil rights attorney.” Lee said Gilmore was “a tremendous mentor, not to mention a loyal personal friend and advocate and highly entertaining personality on top of it all.” “She really encourages her clerks to question the status quo in understanding social systems and be fearless in our approach to the law, relationships, and life,” Lee said.
A New Champion at the DOJ
In mid-October, after her seven weeks of travel abroad, she started to work in the Special Litigation Section of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division.
Among other tasks, the section works to protect the civil rights of those who are incarcerated in juvenile detention and mental health facilities, or who have complaints against state and local police departments. “It’s pretty surreal actually getting the job that I went to law school to be able to do, so I’m exhilarated and just so humbled by the opportunity to shape and better our world,” Lee said. ”It’s definitely exciting getting to work on the controversial and hot-button issues of our time, and at the federal level.” She remains thankful to MCCA for the money that “largely covered my law school tuition and professional fees” when combined with additional merit-based academic grants from UC-Davis and a $10,000 scholarship from Latham & Watkins that recognized her “tenacity and dedication to inclusiveness.” “The LMJ scholarship is the reason that I was able to pursue judicial clerkships and an ultimate job in public service and government work,” she said. “I am incredibly grateful.” ■ GLENN COOK (glenncook117@gmail.com) is a freelance writer and photographer who lives in Northern Virginia.
The 2010 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 and what they are doing now: ■■Gueter Aurelien is an associate with
Venable’s Corporate Practice Group in Baltimore, Md. Her practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions, equity and debt financings, commercial loan transactions, corporate governance, real estate investment trusts (REITs) and general business law matters. ■■Adlah Chisti finished law school and
now is working on her master’s degree in public policy at Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy. ■■Adrienne de la Rosa is an intellectual
property associate at Troutman Sanders LLP in Atlanta, Ga. ■■Kelsey Eaton Fohner is an attorney at
Kutak Rock LLP in Fayetteville, Ark.
■■Donale Evans is an attorney with his
own practice in Houston, Texas. ■■TaCara Harris is a civil litigation
attorney at Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz, P.C. in Nashville, Tenn. ■■William Hudson is an associate in the
real estate department of Seyfarth Shaw in Atlanta. ■■Chanel Lattimer-Tingan is an intel-
lectual property associate attorney at Cozen O’Connor in Philadelphia. ■■Nicholas Meza is an associate with
Quarles & Lundy LLC in Phoenix, working in the firm’s Health Law Practice Group.
■■Jill Mitchell, a former assistant district
attorney in Kansas’ 18th Judicial District, is a Realtor for Keller Williams in Wichita. ■■Jason Sanchez is a criminal defense
attorney in Houston, Texas. ■■Malcolm Wells is an associate at Paul,
Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP in New York City. ■■Brittney Williams is an associate with
Littler Mendelson in Houston, Texas, where she counsels management clients in connection with a wide array of labor and employment matters. Details about the LMJ Scholarship Program can be found at www.mcca.com/ scholarships.
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Law Firm Diversity and Inclusion By Martin Ervin and Mark Roellig
COMPANIES RECOGNIZE AND PUBLICLY ACKNOWLEDGE that in order to compete effectively, a commitment to diversity and inclusion is a business imperative. They have realized that in addition to creating better products, promotions, ideas, and solutions, a focus on diversity and inclusion
To Change How Law Firms Operate Regarding Diversity, Look at How They Run Their Operations
is necessary to expand or to simply maintain their existing market share. This is due partly to the fact that the diverse communities comprising today’s marketplace both desire and expect to be represented through a company’s external branding and internal employment. Therefore, these organizations’ commitment to diversity and inclusion are highlighted on their public websites, advertising, and recruiting materials. Without question, it is a major accomplishment to be recognized by the Human Rights Campaign 100 or as a top enterprise by Diversity Inc., Working Mother, or the National Association of Female Executives.
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This observation is also true of law firms. Law firm websites almost uniformly outline their support for diversity and inclusion, and they tout the outside support and recognition received for their achievements in this area. It is a testament to the importance of the opinion of these outside observers of law firms—arguably, stakeholders of a sort—that they have influenced law firm management to alter their practices in order to display these efforts.
The Proof is in the Pudding
Thus, this overall business phenomenon has clearly impacted the legal services industry. Yet as numerous publications and surveys have revealed that that the leadership and equity partner levels diversity is low and not growing, the purchasers of law firm services are digging deeper on diversity. Much deeper. Led by corporate law departments, inquiries move well beyond that which previously produced industry acco-
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lades for culture change in a law firm. The purchasers of legal services have begun to inspect the actual results of diversity activities conducted by a law firm as a whole, requiring empirical proof of progress. General counsel now seek the answer to a simple question: Which law firms have the best diversity numbers? The “diversity numbers” have several components. First, who is doing the client’s work? And are these individuals being compensated accordingly? Second, what is the actual demographic make-up of the ranks of a law firm’s equity partners, income partners, senior associates, associates and support staff at a law firm? Third, does a law firm’s concept of demographics among its associates, counsels, and partners include the entire spectrum of diversity?
Many organizations, such as MassMutual, are focusing more attention on the dollars spent on women and minority owned businesses—and the women and minorities within majorityowned firms who are doing their work. Legal Departments Are Driving the Change
Many organizations, such as MassMutual, are focusing more attention on the dollars spent on women and minority owned businesses—and the women and minorities within majority-owned firms who are doing their work. This distinction has become important for
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recognition with organizations like Diversity Inc., who are also looking more closely at actual performance throughout the ranks. At MassMutual we ask for data from our law firms beyond what our systems can capture. Although we can extract from our e-billing the total spend by diverse attorney and whether he or she is a partner or associate, we cannot capture data on the firm as a whole. Thus, we have commenced asking the major firms we use for this data—their percentage of equity partners, non-equity partners and associates by diversity category. And yes—for the large firms, a breakdown of their top 100 compensated attorneys by diversity category. Many major companies have become outspoken about how and why they choose or deny a law firm’s legal services. It is inevitable that this expectation for diversity will not end at the attorney level, but be based upon the law firm performance as a whole. It is also inevitable that this trend will continue. An increasing number of corporations are starting to “vote with their feet” regarding their use of law firms, and that decision to “walk” will be based upon whether a law firm can demonstrate measurable in making significant strides with diversity and inclusion. The number of law firms in Boston, specifically, and Massachusetts as a whole is sizeable when compared to the number of major businesses in these areas. Yet law firms still have yet to exhibit the same level of collective progress on diversity that their surrounding businesses have made. As a result, there is a develop-
As a result, these general counsel recognize that the ing perception that law firms have yet to reflect their client’s emphasis on the importance of diversity in the hiring and retention of their attorneys. To make matters worse, that is, for law firms underperforming on diversity, law firms are now competing for business in a more educated legal market. Specifically, general counsel who are the key decision makers in the purchase of legal services are not just highly experienced lawyers coming from the ranks of large prestigious firms. They know how businesses work. They are well-attuned to many of the systemic obstacles that make it difficult for them or their firms in effectively increasing their diversity. As a result, these general counsel recognize that the historic size and prestige of a company or firm does not necessarily guarantee that it will actively promote diversity and inclusion in the hiring and retention of its attorneys.
How Can Law Firms Compete?
So, what are law firms missing in this numbers game of diverse equity partners and diversity throughout the ranks of legal service providers? Increasingly, a key element in the business of growing and maintaining successful brands is the development of meaningful culture of diversity and inclusion and diversity throughout the organization. Period. It starts with executives, managers and supervisors. It continues with the larger ranks of core providers of the business’s services, the support staff and even who sits at the reception desk.
historic size and prestige of a company or firm does not necessarily guarantee that it will actively promote diversity and inclusion in the hiring and retention of its attorneys. It extends to the vendors with whom they choose to do business. In corporations, successful diversity means leadership from the top down. In law firms, that means there must be diversity not only in the leadership ranks of equity partners, but diversity in every strata of legal service provider in the firm. By way of example, in the top 100 law firms in Boston, the ranks of chief operating officer or law firm administrator include just two African-Americans (the co-author being one of them who previously worked at a law firm). Law firms will miss a significant window of opportunity if they seek to simply impress general counsel with industry accolades about improvements in their general law firm culture but fail to make measurable progress elsewhere. General counsel are diving much deeper below the surface in order to measure whether the law firms they are choosing to handle their legal matters are worthy of representing their brand. “Times are a’changing”—fast! ■ MARTIN ERVIN (lawdegree@comcast.net) is a Law Firm Operations Consultant.
MARK ROELLIG (MRoellig49@massmutual.com ) is Executive Vice President & General Counsel, MassMutual Financial Group.
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Substantive Work Assessments A data-based tool to increase retention at your legal organization
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By Bendita Cynthia Malakia YOU HAVE DONE THE HARD WORK TO INCREASE DIVERSITY at your legal organization. You have invested in the pipeline for diverse attorneys, expanded your list of target schools, and undertaken other actions to increase diversity, and they have paid off. Now that the demographics more accurately reflect the diverse society that we live in, it is imperative to ensure that your diverse attorneys have an equitable opportunity to succeed. Success for attorneys is typically the result of a mix of luck, fit, and individual strategy carefully aligned with the profitability streams and strategy of the legal organization. Part of a fruitful strategy that can be fostered by legal organizations includes having access to key clients and inclusion on complex matters to gain skills through premium work assignments. How can you discern whether your diverse legal professionals have equal access to these factors? Use of assessments in large law firms has long occurred in connection with measuring the number of diverse attorneys, but rarely in assessing, culture corporate policies, promotion and retention. Once a diverse attorney is in the door, the legal organization has a business interest to retain that talent. Diverse attorneys will stay at a legal organization longer if they have a reasonably opportunity to advance and have access to the same benefits as other associates, for instance, access to important clients and matters, the benefit of develop-
ment opportunities such as conferences, client meetings, the ability to work on assignments important to the firm and client, including bet the company matters, etc. If legal organizations want to retain diverse attorneys, they need to know that diverse attorneys have an equivalent opportunity to succeed. Substantive work assessments can help legal organizations determine whether
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diverse attorneys are receiving equitable access and training to the opportunities that will develop them professionally and help them succeed at their firm. What do these assessments look like? There isn’t one specific form that a substantive work assessment can take. A substantive work assessment should be carefully tailored to be relevant to your firm’s structure, work distribution practices, and size, among other factors. Here are some considerations to take into account when structuring your firm’s substantive work assessment.
A formal audit may also be appropriate when there is a concern about a particular partner or managing attorney not using available diverse attorneys equitably, and in that case, it may be make sense to limit the assessment to the distribution of assignments by that person.
W
hat are we assessing?
There are a few common disparities that legal organizations should look into to answer the following non-exhaustive questions that may be applicable to your law firm or legal department: Do diverse attorneys have access to clients and matters that are important to the organization? Do diverse attorneys receive challenging substantive work assignments comparable to their non-diverse counterparts? Do diverse attorneys have the opportunity to participate in development opportunities that are important to their growth?
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hat should the assessment look like?
Several factors should be taken into account when determining the nature of a substantive assessment. In general, a law firm or legal department may consider an assessment ranging from an informal survey to a formal audit.
INFORMAL SURVEY What is it an informal survey and when is it effective? An informal survey is a straightforward assessment type that is underused by legal organizations given the ease of administration and the negligible cost to conduct the survey. An informal survey may be sufficient when the legal organization is seeking a general idea on whether an inequity exists between the substantive work experiences of diverse and non-diverse attorneys and when
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no formal complaints of discrimination or inequity have been filed or asserted. Examples of use. An informal survey given to a business development professional in a law firm may be an effective way, for instance, to determine whether diverse attorneys included on pitches or responses to requests for proposals as a marketing tool are actually engaged in any earned representations. Requesting attorneys to provide the names of the top five clients they billed to and comparing that to the enterprise or blue chip clients in a particular practice area or department is a back of the envelope way to gain insight on whether diverse associates have equitable access to premier clients. FORMAL AUDIT What is a formal audit and when is it effective? A formal substantive work audit is an assessment commissioned to be executed either by the legal organization itself or an external consultant to determine whether significant or preliminarily proven bias exists between the substantive work experiences of diverse attorneys or to investigate a formal complaint of discrimination or inequity has been filed or asserted. Formal audits can vary in length and subject matter, but they tend to be carried out in a more methodical and verified manner than an informal survey. Examples of use. A formal audit may be appropriate when the legal organization is the subject of a lawsuit by diverse attorneys asserting bias. It may also be appropriate in myriad non-litigious circumstances. For instance, if a legal organization wants to determine whether diverse attorneys have access to substantive developmental assignments similar to non-diverse attorneys, such as leading conference calls with clients, proposing strategy and legal arguments, writing briefs and being a named attorney on that brief, or being given the opportunity to depose witnesses or craft interrogatories. A formal audit may also be appropriate when there is a concern about a particular partner or managing attorney not using available diverse attorneys equitably, and in that case, it may be make sense to limit the assessment to the distribution of assignments by that person.
ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS Each law firm or legal department has its own culture, politics, resources available for diversity and inclusion, etc., and these requirements should be considered when developing the substantive work assessment. Selecting the right person to develop the assessment, if conducted internally, is also important. Do they have sufficient seniority such that attorneys will be responsive or is it important to downplay any issues or errant queries by having mid-level human resources or business development personnel manage the assessment? If confidentiality is an issue or a detailed report is required by management, it may be important to hire an external consultant to develop, implement and analyze the assessment. Having an influential partner or the general counsel involved may provide the gravity required to obtain responses and for responding parties to take the assessment seriously. If the results are neutral or favorable for diverse attorneys, the legal organization’s work is not yet complete. A substantive work assessment, whether
formal or informal, should be conducted periodically to ensure that all attorneys maintain equitable access to substantive work. Knowledge that substantive work assessments may be conducted from time to time may help preempt or remedy any potential bias issues that could arise. In my work with individual attorneys and law firms on diversity and inclusion, one of the most challenging issues across the board is retaining diverse attorneys. Ensuring that diverse attorneys have equitable access to the substantive keys to a lawyer’s success is a strong argument for retaining that talent. Given the potential considerations involved to develop, implement, analyze and execute findings in connection with a substantive work assessment, it may be beneficial to work with an experienced diversity and inclusion professional. ■ BENDITA CYNTHIA Malakia (malakiamovement@gmail.com) is the founder of Malakia Movement LLC, a coaching and diversity consultancy for lawyers. She is a Harvard-trained lawyer with large law firm, in-house counsel and professional coaching experience.
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Achieving Diverse Ou The Power of Partnering NAMWOLF and Majority Law Firms 1
by Stephanie A. Scharf and N. Nate Saint Victor with Antonio C. Castro
I
n today’s major corporations, debates about diversity have moved past the question of “why?” to the issues of “how and when?” Most Fortune® 500 chief legal officers view diversity as a business imperative, with the expectation that their BigLaw firms will staff diverse teams for major litigation, complex corporate deals, and an array of advice and counseling.2 Those expectations, however, soon meet the reality that a relatively small number of experienced law firm partners are women or lawyers of color—with limited expectations for the near future. Indeed, if BigLaw continues at the current (optimistic) rate of 1% increase a year, it will take until 2045 for firms to reach gender parity for equity partners—and longer to reach parity based on race and national origin.3
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utside Counsel Teams While large firms struggle to advance women and minority lawyers, in the last decade a number of high quality minority-owned firm and women-owned law firms (MWOLF firms) have been retained by corporate America. Prominent examples are member firms of the National Association of Minority and Women Owned Law Firms (NAMWOLF), often led and staffed by lawyers who were successful Big Law partners, high-level government attorneys, and members of corporate law departments.4 These entrepreneurial firms are known for the quality of their work, leaner staffing with more experienced lawyers doing the work, and a focus on getting effective business results. Hourly rates are more reasonable, and without the lawyers of approval needed in large firms, alternative fee arrangements are more feasible. Even so, when a general counsel staffs a major matter, small diverse firms are not usually top of mind. The reasons vary. In some instances, corporations have found it difficult to identify appropriate firms. There is a reluctance to try out firms that are not known to the corporation. Some inside counsel believe that a large matter requires use of a large firm. When a matter is handled by a well-known large firm, and it does not go as well as desired, it is safer to be able to say, “We hired the BigLaw firm.” Is there a way for general counsel to have the best of both worlds—the confidence that their most complex matters have all of the benefits of diverse legal teams and the safety net that comes from using large firms well known to senior executives and corporate boards?
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An Immediate Solution for Achieving Diverse Legal Teams: Big Firm and NAMWOLF Partnerships
We believe there is a ready solution for achieving diversity of counsel on major matters: by partnering highly qualified partners in NAMWOLF firms with their peers in BigLaw firms. A successful collaboration may be initiated by the client, or at the suggestion of the majority firm or the NAMWOLF firm. Here are some working examples:
Collaborations work best when there is not just a commitment but also actual working together as one team and an appreciation that the whole is more than the sum of its parts. 1. A mid-sized national firm collaborated with a local NAMWOLF firm in defending a securities class action. The two firms worked jointly on an overall strategy. The local firm did first drafts of pleadings; the majority firm did first drafts of briefs. Both firms contributed to the final work product. The local firm took the lead on court appearances. The client was actively involved in case strategy. The result was an early dismissal of all claims, affirmed on appeal. 2. A large toxic tort matter was staffed with three firms, with one large firm responsible for developing both the corporate defense, a second large firm responsible for all written and document discovery, and the NAMWOLF firm responsible for developing the expert defense on medical issues. The firms met
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three times a year in person with the client and had frequent communications with each other. This collaboration ended well because of good client oversight and a clear understanding as to the roles that each firm would play. 3. A majority firm specializing in mergers and acquisitions collaborated with a NAMWOLF firm on the acquisition of a large business being purchased from a competitor. The NAMWOLF firm was responsible for the litigation and antitrust due diligence, with the majority firm taking the lead on all other aspects of the deal. The fact that the two firms’ areas of responsibility were clearly defined lead to an efficient and smooth working relationship under intense time pressure. Of course, there are many possibilities for successful teaming arrangements and there is nothing magical about one form of collaboration over another. But there are some essential elements. Shared expectations among all players are key. And there must be real, meaningful work for each firm. The NAMWOLF firm should not default to “window-dressing,” where it ends up with occasional or low-level work. That model does not take advantage of the talent in a NAMWOLF firm or its cost efficiencies, and also demeans the value of diversity. Shared expectations should include the ability to work well and generously with all team members, regardless of whether a lawyer is in one firm or another. Pressures inside firms, especially in BigLaw firms, for greater billings, more obvious matter responsibility, and direct client communication, may undercut any given lawyer’s willingness to share work. Clients need to be clear about their expectations for the roles of the combined firms. Collaborations work best when there is not just a commitment but also actual working together as one team and an appreciation that the whole is more than the sum of its parts. To summarize, an effective law firm collaboration works well when: a. the lawyers in the collaborating firms respect the quality of work and quality of all the lawyers on the team; b. the focus of each firm is on getting the job done at the highest level of quality and efficiency (and not “how much are we getting”); c. each participating firm has meaningful work; and d. the client strongly encourages a successful collaboration through his/her words and actions. To assist GCs and law departments, we outline below a Checklist for Collaboration, to provide an easy framework for starting, overseeing, and gaining the greatest benefit from diversity partnerships—which is the ultimate reward.■
Endnotes 1 paper synthesizes the authors’ longer Report on the Power of Partnering, written with the encouragement of NAMWOLF (the National Association of Minority and Women Owned Law Firms). The complete Report is available at www.scharfbanks.com and www.namwolf.org. In developing these recommendation, the authors gratefully acknowledge a distinguished Advisory Group including James K. Grasty, Vice President and Assistant General Counsel, Merck & Co, Inc.; Stacey Gray, Stacey Gray, P.C. Monica Holland, Partner, Davis Polk; Denise F. Keane, General Counsel, Altria Group, Inc.; Dionna (Deedee) Litvin, Assistant Counsel, Merck & Co., Inc.; Julie S. Mazza, Corporate Counsel, DuPont; Maria D. Melendez, Partner, Sidley Austin LLP; and Robert N. Weiner, Partner, Arnold & Porter. 2 See, e.g., report of the August 7, 2016 American Bar Association Showcase Program, sponsored by the ABA 360 Commission on Diversity and Inclusion, featuring General Counsel approaches to outside counsel diversity. https://bol.bna.com/ at-aba-meeting-renewed-call-for-diversity-among-gcs/. 3 See, e.g., 2014 Report of the NAWL Annual Survey of Retention and Proportion of Women in Law Firms, www.nawl.org/ (select “Resources” from drop-down menu, then “Publications,” “Surveys,” and “February 25, 2014 Survey Report PDF 4 Every NAMWOLF member is annually certified by the National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC) or the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) and is Martindale Hubbell AV-ranked.
N. NATE SAINT VICTOR (nate.saintvictor@morganstanley.com) is an Executive Director in Morgan Stanley’s Legal Department where he counsels on the design and distribution of alternative investments and other financial products. Previously, he practiced investment management law at Davis Polk. Saint Victor mobilizes resources for innovation and change within the legal profession through his leadership positions with the Alliance of Securities and Financial Educators (ASAFE), the Council of Urban Professionals (CUP), Legal Outreach, NAMWOLF, and the New York City Bar Association. In 2015, he completed an appointment as the Chair of Morgan Stanley’s Legal and Compliance Division Diversity and Inclusion Committee
STEPHANIE A. SCHARF (sscharf@scharfbanks.com) is a partner with Scharf Banks Marmor LLC, a women-owned law firm nationally recognized for the quality of its legal work and business counseling. The firm represents global enterprises, publicly held companies and private businesses in complex litigation, corporate compliance, employment, intellectual property, and life sciences. Before forming her current firm, Scharf was a partner in the litigation practices at Kirkland & Ellis and Jenner & Block. She is a former President of the National Association of Women Lawyers, and author of the recent ABA report, “First Chairs at Trial: More Women Need Seats at the Table.” ANTONIO C. CASTRO (antonio.castro@zumpanocastro.com) is a managing partner of Zumpano Castro, LLC, and chairs the firm’s Commercial Litigation group. With more than 20 years of experience and fluent in Spanish, Castro has handled litigation and arbitrations in the U.S., and in Central and South America.
A Checklist for Collaboration with NAMWOLF Firms and Majority Firms 1. INITIATING THE COLLABORATION ❏■Choose outside counsel firms. List why each selected firm was chosen—for what capabilities. ❏■Confirm that the client and the outside counsel firms share the same understanding of the value that each firm brings. State which particular persons have communicated that understanding, and to whom. ❏■Set an early date for the client and key lawyers from each firm to meet in person at the beginning of the engagement. ❏■When staffing any matter, outside counsel should strive to ensure their team of lawyers is diverse. 2. STRUCTURING THE COLLABORATION ❏■Identify which specific client representative is in charge of overseeing the engagement. ❏■Identify the areas of principal responsibility and of support work for each firm. ❏■Identify which firm partner is in charge of overseeing the collaboration of his/her firm’s work. ❏■Identify who will have ultimate decision-making authority on the matter in a given area; and who will have overall decision-making authority for the matter as a whole. ❏■Determine how the client will assess the value of each firm’s contribution. Will it be a combination of quality of work, timeliness, specialized knowledge, cost, and/or other factors? 3. ONGOING COMMUNICATION ❏■Determine how often the lead lawyers from each firm will meet (at least by telephone) with the client. •Set regular times for meetings/required attendance by each firm. •Determine that the frequency of meetings is appropriate for the nature of the matter. ❏■Determine who will provide a written agenda for meetings, which sets out strategy, ongoing tasks, and assignments to firms. ❏■Determine how often the outside firms meet (at least by telephone) to discuss ongoing activities. ❏■For fast-moving matters, hold quarterly in-person meetings with the client. 4. CLIENT CHECK-IN ❏■Determine when the client will “check in” with each firm about how the collaboration is proceeding. ❏■Determine if the client will solicit “360” views of how management by the client is proceeding. 5. MID-TERM/END OF ENGAGEMENT REVIEW ❏■For longer-term engagements, set a date for in-person or midterm review. Conduct end of engagement review/lessons learned.
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PROFILE IN PERSEVERANCE | BY TOM CALARCO
Ollie Cantos: A Man with Extraordinary Vision A conversation with blind attorney Ollie Cantos is like talking to your best friend whom you haven’t talked with in years. Our interview took place while Cantos, a multitasker extraordinaire, was taking a ride in an Uber. His warmth and positive energy effervesces. “Each day is an opportunity to do good,” he said exuberantly. “Every single day, do something good for people and make them feel good, [and] if you do good, then you will do well.” Such a philosophy has guided Cantos to success at every turn of his life and to a position in the White House as a member of the leadership team for both Presidents Bush and Obama, today working as Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Education. He had previously been appointed by the Bush White House to the position of Associate Director for Domestic Policy, coordinating the full societal participation of more than 54 million Americans with disabilities. The start of Cantos’s life, however, did not promise such success. He was born two months premature, resulting in a condition called retinopathy of prematurity. This caused him to be sightless in his left eye and to have less than five percent vision in his right eye. In grade school, because he had minimal vision in one eye, they wouldn’t allow him to learn Braille, forcing him to struggle with his schoolwork. Nevertheless, he was expected to get good grades and was forced to work many more hours than usual to succeed, leaving little time for the few friends
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he had. He also was constantly bullied by classmates, who called him names and would trip him as he walked on school grounds. Then a pivotal moment in his life occurred. “When I was in fifth grade, there was this guy named Dale,” he said, “we didn’t hit it off very well at first. He would always tell me to get out of his way. One day I had a rough day and as my Dad had been encouraging me to stand up for myself, I said to him that he should get out of my way.” Dale, who was a year older and much bigger, picked him up and spun him around, then let him go, causing him to be thrown to the ground. “I wasn’t hurt bad but my pride was hurt,” Cantos said. The next time, however, when Cantos encountered him, he nervously approached Dale and said. “I don’t want to be afraid of you the rest of the year; can I be your friend?” Cantos held out his hand and to his surprise, Dale shook it. And thereafter, Dale became his protector and wouldn’t allow anyone to make fun of Cantos again. “For the first time in my life, I had power,” he said. “The big breakthrough was that I realized that no matter how tough things can get, there’s always hope if we keep persisting and be creative in problem-solving.”
It brought Cantos out of his shell, and he became a leader in student government throughout his years in junior and senior high school, a leadership role he has maintained throughout his professional career that has included a string of awards too long to list in this short biography. Cantos, who comes from a very close family that includes a sister, credits his positive spirit and success to his mother. “My mom is my everything. There’s no way to describe in one word my Mom. She’s my drill sergeant, my confidant, counselor, my psychologist, my political advisor, and she’s my tax preparer,” he finally concludes with a laugh. His Dad, he said, provided him with his social skills. “The reason why I have any skill with people is because of my Dad,” he said. “When I was a little boy, he would take me to the hospital where he worked and everybody would say hi, from the hospital administrator, the janitor, the doctors, the nurses. My Dad always knew everybody’s name, and knew how to make everybody feel good by complimenting them. I would not be like I am if it weren’t for him because I was naturally shy.” Canto said what he learned most from his Dad was how doing good to others makes his life better. “When we take the time to build people up around us, they build us up in return,” he said. “But we should only build them up for their own good and not expect anything in return.”
Cantos (second from the right) pictured with his three adopted sons. “Whenever I hear them call me Dad, it’s the highest compliment to me. It’s impossible to describe how grateful I am that I get to be their dad.”
Not only does he believe this but he practices this, confessing that he sometimes gives money to people randomly on the street or anonymously pays the check for people he doesn’t know at restaurants. Another pivotal moment in his life was when he was ready to quit his legal education at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. At the time, he still hadn’t efficiently learned Braille yet. “Toward the end of my first year with things being so rough as they were,” he said. “I remember saying, that’s it. In spite of all the support I had, I thought I had hit my limit. So I wrote a letter to the Dean of the Law School, Gerald McLaughlin, telling him I was going to disenroll myself, that it was just too hard.” On his way to deliver the letter, he accidentally encountered McLaughlin and said he needed to talk to him. “I’m glad that we came across each other then,” McLaughlin said. “because I know that you had a lot of trouble here and I know it’s been really tough, but we believe in you and we accepted you because we felt you had a lot of potential to do it and as long as you stick with it you’re going to do great. Now what was it that you wanted to see me about?” Cantos didn’t know what to say and suggested it wasn’t that important. Of course, he ripped up that letter. He learned a lesson that day, he said, that you should never quit and that the greater the struggle, the closer you are to the reward. Seven years ago, Cantos extended his good fortune to three blind triplets, Leo, Nick and Steven, whom he adopted, who are now 17 (see GoFundMe.com/SupportBlindTriple). One of the first things he did was teach them how to use their canes better on a trip to the corner grocery. The store clerk asked Cantos if they were his
sons, but before he could answer, Leo said, “Yeah, that’s my dad.” As Cantos remembers it, Leo said, “Well, you take us places, you protect us, you help us with our homework and make us happy. Sounds like a dad to me.” “Whenever I hear them call me Dad,” Cantos said, “it’s the highest compliment to me. It’s impossible to describe how grateful I am that I get to be their dad.” Cantos is a masterful communicator and inspirational speaker, having spoken to thousands on the various occasions he has been invited to speak. In addition to his speaking engagements, he is an avid user of social media and produces a series of motivational videos called The Visionary Series”—(see www.OllieCantos.com). In them Cantos delivers unrehearsed though carefully considered, upbeat homilies. They are very informal and he might be doing it while taking a walk outside, in true multitasking fashion. He covers such topics as appreciating the special moments in our lives, why gratitude is important, and how to turn failure into success. “Happiness should be in the journey not the destination,” he said. “When people stop growing they atrophy. We have to strive for the next thing; the reason is for the purpose of growth. We’re meant to be happy and we’ll be happy if we grow.” While Cantos is ever seeking success and personal growth, he also seeks it for others. Sometimes people ask him what is his motivation in becoming successful, if he is doing it to prove that someone blind can do it. Not at all, he tells them.
He is just living out his life to its greatest potential. “We all should try to live our lives to the optimal possible potential,” he said, “and we should seek that for others. There is more than enough success to go around in the world, so we don’t have to be envious. Others don’t have to fail for us to succeed.” Cantos confesses that he would like to enter politics. His grandfather was a Congressman in the government of the Philippines, and since a child he has wanted to be like his grandfather, and be a Congressman. Though Cantos is a Republican living in a heavily Democratic district, he feels that his ability to collaborate with others, having worked for both Republican and Democratic Presidents, will be an asset to his candidacy. “I will have to resign from my career position in the federal government,” he said, “but I feel like the time is almost here.” His buoyant, can-do attitude is sure to attract many supporters and voters. “Life is a series of metaphors,” he said. “But if we imagine ourselves with different metaphors, soaring, flying, visualizing ourselves as who we imagine and who we want to be, then it already exists. Then we can take action and it always works. We can choose to live in a world that we want.” ■ TOM CALARCO (tomcalwriter@yahoo.com) based in Loveland, Ohio, is a freelance writer and author of seven books on the Underground Railroad.
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DIVERSITY NEWS
BY MEREDITH MOORE
Upstanders@Weil: Leading the Way in Law Firm Diversity & Inclusion
Putting the “Inclusion” into Diversity & Inclusion Efforts BUILDING AN IMPACTFUL DIVERSITY INITIATIVE TODAY requires more than organizing trainings and establishing affinity groups. These mainstays of any diversity program are still necessary, but more is needed to take your organization to the next level. As our firm, like many organizations, evolves from a focus on diversity to inclusion, how do we truly involve everyone in our efforts in order to yield meaningful results? At Weil, it is in our DNA to ask, “How can we do it better?” It is in that spirit that we launched Upstanders@Weil. This year-long, firmwide initiative is a first-ofits-kind program that encourages everyone at Weil to stand up for inclusion in the workplace and at home. Upstanders@Weil broadens the “ally” concept beyond the LGBT community, where it has traditionally been applied, and encourages people to be supporters and advocates for people and communities of different backgrounds. Our program was inspired by the non-profit Facing History and Ourselves, which developed the “Upstanders” catch-phrase to differentiate between allies who take action from well-meaning, but more passive, bystanders. We took this approach because it provides individuals with many avenues for being proponents of diversity and instills the message that, in all facets of life, at work, at home, and even outside on the street, there is always a way to be an Upstander. Upstanders Listen Up, Show
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Up, Talk Up and Speak Up. These four actions touch everything from reading, asking questions, and listening to learn about people from different backgrounds, to participating in programs where you will be in the minority, to advocating for colleagues of different backgrounds, to interrupting bias and stereotyping in the moment or after the fact. Weil Upstanders are encouraged to encompass these characteristics and consider new ways in which they can implement the four behaviors in to their work and personal lives. “There are so many ways that Weil employees have been and continue to be Upstanders, taking on projects big and small, both in-house and out,” says Jacqueline Marcus, chair of Weil’s Diversity Committee. “We hope that by showcasing our Upstanders, we will encourage others, both within and outside the firm, to follow suit,” she continues. For instance, our partners “Listen Up” by mentoring through Women@Weil’s mentoring circles in order to understand the experiences of women associates. Attor-
neys and staff in New York “Show Up” by educating middle school students from the South Bronx through PENCIL, an organization that creates ongoing collaboration between business and public schools. And Weil’s Business Development team “Talks Up” by supporting diverse pitch teams, while designated Management Committee members “Speak Up” to ensure the firm’s affinity group voices are heard. We developed Upstanders@ Weil entirely in-house, instead of working with an outside organization. This allowed us, as the Global Diversity & Social Responsibility team and Diversity Committee, to take what we know about Weil’s culture and fully implement these practices into the Upstander initiative. By developing a suite of resources for the program in-house, not only were we able to better create an awareness and education program to fit Weil’s needs, we were also able to speak to a larger group of people within the firm, from management to partners, to associates to staff, to better understand the way this program could be the most effective in their day-to-day lives. Materials produced include the Upstander Action Guide, the Upstander Fact Sheet, an Interactive Diversity Theater training module, and the Upstander@Weil video. These components engage Weil
Action Guide employees with Upstander behaviors and include ideas and tips on ally behaviors, such as mentoring across difference, volunteering for communities you are not a member of, respectfully seeking to understand colleagues’ backgrounds, and raising diversity issues when you witness them. They also demonstrate ways in which lawyers and staff from around the world are champions for diversity both professionally and personally. To acknowledge the real impact that Upstanders@Weil are making, we established a firmwide accolade named after our recently-retired longtime Diversity Committee Chair. The award recognizes attorneys and staff for actions large or small that promote diversity and inclusion in the workplace and in the broader community. Since its launch in November 2015, there have already been over 50 award recipients, and attorneys and staff are encouraged to nominate colleagues on an ongoing basis. With the launch of Upstanders@Weil, we have already hosted numerous special events promoting Upstander actions, including a Veterans Day program highlighting how organizations can engage the talent of veterans, a day dedicated to volunteering in honor of Martin
Stand up for inclusion in the workplace, the community, and at home.
Luther King Day, and a signature event on the critical role of “ethical bystanders” and “allies” to make society and the workplace more inclusive, amongst many others. In 2016, we continue to highlight the power of Upstanders. At our global Women’s History Month program, esteemed panelists, including the author of The New York Times bestseller Sisters in Law, discussed the importance of sponsorship to the careers of Justices Sandra Day O’Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsberg. We look forward to the future of this initiative with the continuation of the awarding Upstanders@Weil which further embeds a culture of allyship into the fabric of the firm. We also hope to leverage the program even further by using it as a platform for expanding and deepening the firm’s affinity group efforts globally. Upstanders@Weil is just the latest example of Weil’s commitment to diversity and inclusion that has been at the core of our firm since
it was founded. Weil was the first New York firm to institute a firmwide diversity training program and a formal diversity policy in the 1980s, and we were among the first firms to implement formal affinity groups. For more than 30 years, Weil has been a leader in investing in formal initiatives to empower and engender an inclusive culture, one of respect and support, to create an environment where all attorneys and staff feel comfortable and encouraged to excel. We look forward to continue being Upstanders as a firm, and cultivating a cascading group of individual Upstanders among our attorneys, staff, alumni, and clients within the workplace in our communities around the world. We hope to create a ripple effect which will help to turn the tide towards a truly inclusive workplace and society. ■ MEREDITH MOORE (meredith.moore@ weil.com) serves as the Director of Global Diversity & Social Responsibility at Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, overseeing the firm’s diversity and inclusion and community engagement initiatives including diversity education, affinity groups, diversity pipeline, and community service including the Weil Pay It Forward effort.
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MOVERS & SHAKERS JACQUELINE LU Farney Daniels PC
The Texas-based intellectual property law firm Farney Daniels PC has announced the election of Jacqueline Lu to shareholder. Ms. Lu is an experienced litigator in intellectual property disputes, having represented such notable international companies as Hewlett-Packard, Xerox Corp., HEC Pharm Co., Nang Kuang Pharmaceutical Co., Creative Labs, and Acer Inc., in matters ranging from generic drug filings to semiconductors to Internet technology and network security. She earned her law degree from The University of Texas School of Law in 2010 after securing her undergraduate degree in chemistry, with honors, from the University of California, Berkeley, with a concentration in organic chemistry and organic synthesis. During her studies, she participated in an REU Research Program funded by the National Science Foundation. Ms. Lu is fluent in written and spoken Mandarin Chinese, and she holds an undergraduate degree in Chinese language, with honors, from the University of California, Berkeley. She put those skills to use in a semester-long exchange program with the prestigious Tsinghua Law School in Beijing, China, in 2010.
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WILLIAM “BILL” HOPKINS
Shackelford, Bowen, McKinley & Norton, LLP Shackelford, Bowen, McKinley & Norton, LLP, has added Partner William “Bill” Hopkins to their Austin office. He represents health care entities and providers in litigation and before state and federal boards on matters involving licensure, regulatory compliance and administrative issues. He has held several leadership positions with the American Bar Association’s Health Law Section. Mr. Hopkins also is the current president of the Central Texas Advisory Board of the Texas Diversity Council. He is actively involved in his community and serves on a number of non-profit boards including Big Brothers Big Sisters Foundation, the American Red Cross, the Austin Symphony Orchestra, People’s Community Clinic Foundation, Kids in a New Groove and E4 Youth. Hopkins earned his undergraduate degree from High Point University and his JD from the University of Texas School of Law.
MOVERS & SHAKERS
MIGUEL R. RIVERA Kutak Rock LLP
Kutak Rock LLP has named Miguel R. Rivera of counsel to their litigation practice group. He brings two decades of experience in both law firms and as a general counsel for a larger international retailer. Rivera’s practice will focus on complex litigation. Mr. Rivera served as the Indiana Commissioner of Labor, a cabinet level position, as vice chairman of the Indiana Parole Board, and as deputy attorney general for the State of Indiana. He served as secretary and a member of the board of directors of three Latin American businesses for a large international retailer, and was a member of the same company’s international franchise operating committee, information security council, and employment retirement investment committee. Mr. Rivera has served on numerous boards, committees and councils for not-for-profits and state and municipal governments. He is also a published author including regularly contributing as a columnist to Diversity & the Bar magazine from 2015-2016. His writing extensively focuses on managing legal departments and client relations from the general counsel’s perspective. He earned his BA from the University of Illinois and his JD from the University of Illinois College of Law.
DAMON O. BARRY Ballard Spahr
Ballard Spahr has expanded its business and finance capabilities with the addition of partner Damon O. Barry, who handles general corporate and business law, mergers and acquisitions, financing, matters involving emerging companies and securities. Mr. Barry has been named to the Forty under 40 honoree, Denver Business Journal; 2010 Alumni Master, Nebraska Alumni Association; “30 Leaders of the Future,” Ebony magazine. His board memberships include Trustee, University of Nebraska Foundation; Director, University of Nebraska College of Law Alumni Council & Executive Board; Board member, Goodwill Industries of Denver; Middle Western President, Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.; and the Sam Cary Bar Association. He earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Washington where he played varsity football, played in three consecutive Rose Bowls and helped his team earn a 1991 National Championship. and his JD from the University of Nebraska College of Law. He is a member of the Association for Corporate Growth and the Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity.
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MCCA® LAW DEPARTMENT MEMBERS 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.
2 01 6
M C CA ®
Since 1997
3M Company
DHL America
JM Family Enterprises, Inc.
Resources USA, Inc.
AARP
Diageo North America, Inc.
JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Salesforce.com, Inc.
Abercrombie & Fitch
Discover Financial Services
Johnson & Johnson
Sempra Energy
AbstoneLalley, Inc.
DTE Energy Company
Kaiser Foundation Health Plan Inc.
Accenture LLP
Duke Energy Corporation
KeyCorp
AECOM
Eaton Corporation
Law School Admission Council
Allstate Insurance Company
Emergent BioSolutions
Liberty Mutual Insurance Company
Altria Client Services
Entergy Corporation
LifeVantage Corporation
American Express Company
Estée Lauder Companies Inc.
Liquidity Services, Inc.
Anthem, Inc.
Exelon Business Services Company
LPL Financial LLC
Ascena Retail Group, Inc.
Exxon Mobil Corporation
Marriott International, Inc.
A. Schulman, Inc.
Fannie Mae
MassMutual Financial Group
Avis Budget Group
Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh
McDonald’s Corporation
The Clorox Company
Merck & Co., Inc.
The Conference Board, Inc.
BIC International
Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco
MetLife Inc.
The Vanguard Group, Inc.
Bloomberg L.P.
Flagstar Bank
Microsoft Corporation
TRM LLC
BNY Mellon
Flextronics
Mondelez International
Twitter, Inc.
Bristol-Myers Squibb Company
Freddie Mac
Morgan Stanley
Carter’s, Inc.
Fujitec America, Inc.
Nabholz Construction Services
CBS Corporation
Gap Inc.
National Grid
Ceannate Corp
Genentech, Inc
National Urban League
Chevron Corporation
General Electric Company
Choice Hotels International, Inc.
GlaxoSmithKline
Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company
CIGNA Corporation
Google Inc.
Citigroup Global Markets Inc.
Graduate Management Admission Council
Becton, Dickinson and Company
Shell Oil Company SourceAmerica Staples, Inc. Starbucks Coffee Company Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide State Farm Insurance Companies Symplicity Corporation
UBS Financial Services UnitedHealth Group United Services Automobile Association “USAA” United Technologies Corporation
New York Life Insurance Company
Verizon Communications
NFM, Inc.
Visa Inc.
Northrop Grumman Corporation
VMware Inc.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise
Nuclear Electric Insurance Limited
Walmart Stores, Inc.
H.J. Russell & Company
Office Depot, Inc.
Waste Management
Honda North America, Inc.
Pacific Gas and Electric Company
HP Inc.
Pearson, Inc.
HSBC Bank USA
Pepco Holdings, Inc.
Huntington Ingalls Industries
PepsiCo Inc.
Deere & Company
IBM Corporation
Porzio Life Sciences, LLC
Dell Inc.
Ingersoll-Rand PLC
Premier Media Inc.
Xylem Inc.
Intel Corporation
Prudential Financial
Yazaki North America Inc.
International Paper Company
Quest Diagnostics Incorporated
Zara USA, Inc.
Comcast NBCUniversal ConAgra Foods, Inc. Cox Communications Inc. Crawford & Company DAP Products Inc. Darden Restaurants, Inc. - [GMRI, Inc.]
Detroit Employment Solutions Corporation
Wells Fargo & Company Wyndham Worldwide Xcel Energy Xerox Corporation
For membership information, please contact membership@mcca.com. 60 D I V E R S I T Y & T H E B A R NOV.DEC 2016 MCCA.COM
MCCA® LAW FIRM AFFILIATES MCCA® acknowledges the following law firms who have joined MCCA to further advance diversity in the legal profession.
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP
Duane Morris LLP Dunlap Codding
Alchemy-Partners, PC
Elliott Greenleaf
Anderson Kill PC
Epstein Becker & Green PC
Lowe & Associates LLC -
Sheppard Mullin Richter Hampton
Counsellors & Advisors
LLP
Marrero & Wydler
Shook, Hardy & Bacon LLP
McGuireWoods LLP
Singh Law PLLC
Miles & Stockbridge P.C.
Arent Fox LLP
Faegre Baker Daniels LLP
Arnstein & Lehr LLP
Finnegan Henderson Farabow
Barta, Jones & Foley, PC
Garrett & Dunner LLP
Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp LLP
Beveridge & Diamond PC
Fish & Richardson PC
Montgomery Barnett Brown Read
Blank Rome LLP
Fisher & Phillips LLP
Bookoff McAndrews, PLLC
Fitzpatrick Cella Harper & Scinto
Bressler Amery & Ross PC Bricker & Eckler LLP Brown & Associates, PLLC Brown Law Group Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC BuckleySandler LLP Burns White LLC Butler Snow LLP Calfee, Halter & Griswold LLP Cohen & Gresser LLP Cole, Scott & Kissane, PA Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP Cooley LLP Cottrell Solensky & Semple, PA Courington Kiefer & Sommers LLC
Forman Watkins & Krutz, LLP Hamilton Miller & Birthisel LLP Harrity & Harrity, LLP Hudson & Calleja, LLC Hughes Roch LLP Husch Blackwell LLP Ice Miller LLP Innis Law Group LLC Irwin Fritchie Urquhart & Moore, LLC Jackson Lewis P.C. Jones Walker LLP Kaufman Dolowich & Voluck LLP Kenyon & Kenyon LLP Kirkland & Ellis LLP Lam Lyn & Philip PC Law Office of Ricardo E. Oquendo,
Cowles & Thompson PC
Esq.
Cozen O’Connor
LimNexus LLP - [Formerly Lim
DeMahy Labrador Drake Victor
Steptoe & Johnson PLLC
Miller Law Group
Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox, PLLC
Hammond & Mintz LLP
Stevens & Lee
Monty & Ramirez LLP
Stinson Leonard Street LLP
Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP
Sughrue Mion PLLC
Moritt Hock & Hamroff LLP
Sullivan & Cromwell LLP
Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP
Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP
Nixon Peaboby LLP
Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP
NOSSAMAN LLP Ober Kaler Grimes & Shriver
The Willis Law Group
Ogletree Deakins Nash Smoak &
Thompson Coburn LLP
Stewart PC
Troutman Sanders LLP
Pepper Hamilton LLP
Vinson & Elkins LLP
Phelps Dunbar LLP
Waas Campbell Rivera Johnson &
Porzio Bromberg & Newman PC Proskauer Rose LLP
Velasquez LLP Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP
Quarles & Brady LLP Richards, Layton & Finger, PA
Wheeler Trigg O’Donnell LLP Willenken Wilson Loh & Delgado
Roig Lawyers Rooney Rippie & Ratnaswamy LLP
LLP Winston & Strawn LLP
Sanchez & Amador LLP Sandberg Phoenix & von Gontard
Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice,
PC
LLP
Ruger & Kim]
Saul Ewing LLP
Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor,
Rojas Cabeza (DLD Lawyers)
Littler Mendelson PC
Schiff Hardin, LLP
LLP
Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP
Loeb & Loeb LLP
Senniger Powers LLP
Zupkus & Angell, PC
Potential FANs, please contact membership@mcca.com. MCCA.COM NOV.DEC 2016 D I V E R S I T Y
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