Microsoft’s General Counsel Brad Smith To Deliver Keynote Address At MCCA Diversity Gala

Microsoft’s General Counsel Brad Smith To Deliver Keynote Address At MCCA Diversity Gala
Chair of the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity at Microsoft to give Keynote at MCCA Diversity Gala on June 30, 2015 at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

WASHINGTON D.C. – Today, the Minority Corporate Counsel Association (MCCA) announced that Brad Smith, Microsoft’s Executive Vice President and General Counsel of the Legal and Corporate Affairs Department will be delivering the Keynote Address at the 2015 Diversity Gala on June 30th at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. The Diversity Gala honors corporate law departments for leadership in their diversity programs.

“We are honored to have Brad Smith join us in celebrating diversity and inclusion during our signature Diversity Gala,” said MCCA President and CEO Joseph K. West. “Not only is Brad an incredibly talented lawyer, he has been a resounding national voice for a variety of issues, among them diversity and inclusion.  He is a dear friend of MCCA, and an inspiration to us all.”

Brad Smith is Microsoft’s General Counsel and Executive Vice President of Legal and Corporate Affairs (LCA). He leads approximately 1,100 legal, business and corporate affairs professionals spanning 55 countries and is responsible for the company’s legal work, its intellectual property portfolio, patent licensing business, and the company’s government affairs, public policy, corporate citizenship and philanthropic work. He also serves as Microsoft’s corporate secretary and its chief compliance officer. Smith joined Microsoft in 1993, and before becoming general counsel in 2002 he spent three years leading the LCA team in Europe, then five years serving as the deputy general counsel responsible for LCA’s teams outside the United States.

Smith has worked to advance the legal profession through significant diversity and pro bono projects, both within Microsoft and in the broader legal profession. He currently co-chairs the board of directors of Kids in Need of Defense (KIND) and is the chair of the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD).

“I am thrilled to deliver the Keynote address at this year’s MCCA Diversity Gala, the premier national awards program that honors leading corporate law departments and individuals who champion diversity and inclusion,” said Brad Smith of Microsoft.

The MCCA Diversity Gala honors corporate law departments for their leadership in the industry and achievements in their diversity programs. The Gala is preceded by the Creating Pathways to Diversity Conference, which spotlights initiatives and promotes best practices for diversity and inclusion. This year’s Diversity Gala is sponsored by Microsoft, Morgan Lewis, Walmart, and Womble Carlyle. For sponsorship opportunities or more information on the MCCA’s Employer of Choice Award, Pathways Conference and Diversity Gala, or other annual programs at MCCA, please visit www.mcca.com or contact Aracely Muñoz Petrich, Esq. at (202) 739-5841 or aracelymunozpetrich@mcca.com.

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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.