FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 31, 2015
MCCA Names 2015 List of Rising Star Attorneys
Lawyers Profiled in the 2015 March/ April Issue of Diversity & The Bar Magazine
WASHINGTON D.C. – Today the Minority Corporate Counsel Association (MCCA) announced the names of its 2015 Rising Stars; 15 stellar attorneys whose accomplishments and dedication to the legal field and to their respective communities place them among those attorneys to watch. MCCA chose the 15 Rising Star attorneys out of a large nomination pool.
“I am honored to name MCCA’s 2015 Rising Stars. These energetic individuals exemplify the diversity in the legal profession, and share one common trait: they contribute to society through the law and service to others. They represent the future of the legal profession,” said MCCA President and CEO Joseph K. West.
Here is the list of MCCA’s 2015 Rising Stars:
- Alisha Cieslak, General Counsel, Gordon Food Service
- Ian Clement, Senior Associate, Wong Fleming
- Andrew Diaz-Matos, VP, Assistant General Counsel, Director of Enterprise Transactions Law, The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc.
- Nicole Duclos, Partner, Covington & Burling LLP
- Rudy Figueroa, VP Admin, Legal & HR, General Counsel and Secretary, Mitsui Rail Capital, LLC
- Jamil French, Director and Senior Counsel, Pershing Advisor Solutions LLC, a BNY Mellon Company
- Doris Gilliam, Senior Attorney, AARP
- Nicky Jatana, Shareholder, Jackson Lewis P.C.
- Stephen Lessard, Senior Associate, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP
- Tamika S. Mayes, Senior Tax Attorney, General Motors Company
- Alex Ponce de Leon, Counsel, Google Inc.
- Schuyler A. Smith, Associate, Hamilton, Miller & Birthisel, LLP
- David J. Tsai, Partner, Perkins Coie LLP
- Joycelynn Watkins-Asiyanbi, Assistant General Counsel, Global Supply Chain and International Businesses, W. W. Grainger, Inc.
- Michael W. Weaver,Partner, McDermott Will & Emery LLP
MCCA congratulates the 2015 Rising Stars and celebrates the diversity of their race and ethnicities, gender, sexual orientation, disability status, and generational differences, as well as the diversity in their practice areas and career paths. Nominees included attorneys who have a minimum of five years of experience in the legal profession, show outstanding achievement in their profession, and do pro bono or community service work. The MCCA 2015 Rising Stars are featured in the 2015 March/April issue Diversity & the Bar magazine.
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The Minority Corporate Counsel Association (MCCA) was founded in 1997 to advocate for the expanded hiring, retention, and promotion of minority attorneys in corporate law departments and the law firms that serve them. MCCA furthers its mission through the collection and dissemination of information about diversity in the legal profession. MCCA takes an inclusive approach to the definition of “diversity.” Therefore, its research addresses issues of race/ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, disability status, and generational differences which impact the legal profession’s workforce