CONGRATULATIONS NORTHEAST DIVERSITY AWARD WINNERS
New York Life Insurance Company
Employer of Choice Award Winner
(L to R): Veta Richardson, MCCA; Sheila K. Davidson, New York Life Insurance Company; and Bradford L. Smith, Microsoft Corporation
Starwood Hotel & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.
Employer of Choice Award Winner
(L to R): Veta Richardson, MCCA; Kenneth S. Siegel, Starwood Hotel & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.; and Bradford L. Smith, Microsoft Corporation
Scripps Networks, Inc.
Employer of Choice Award Winner
(L to R): Veta Richardson, MCCA; Robert J. Gerrard, Jr., Scripps Networks, Inc.; and Bradford L. Smith, Microsoft Corporation
Arnold & Porter LLP
Thomas L. Sager Award Winner
(L to R): Veta Richardson, MCCA; Michael Oshima, Arnold and Porter LLP; and J.P. Suarez, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
MCCA® Announces 5th Annual CLE Expo
Save the date! Join MCCA® on March 15–17, 2006 at the Marriott Chicago Downtown hotel for one of its most important events—the 5th Annual CLE Expo.
The CLE Expo is a premier business development conference created to provide corporate counsel with top-notch CLE programming as well as superb networking, maximized by limiting registration with an equal balance of in-house to outside counsel participants. You'll be sure to meet your CLE requirements with over 25 different sessions to?choose from as a part of the program. The sessions are organized into five tracks: labor and employment, litigation, corporate, intellectual property, and value-added management.
For additional information and to register, please visit www.mcca.com or contact Shawn Boynes at 202.739.5909 or shawnboynes@mcca.com.
LAW DEPARTMENTS OF FORTUNE 500 CORPORATIONS JOIN TO INCREASE LEGAL BUSINESS OF NATION'S MINORITY-OWNED LAW FIRMS
Five leading corporations recently announced that they have undertaken a multifaceted initiative to increase inclusion of minority-owned law firms among those serving corporate America. The five companies involved in the effort—DuPont, General Motors, Sara Lee, Shell Oil, and Wal-Mart—have made a public pledge to place an aggregate of at least $16 million of business with minority-owned law firms during calendar year 2006.
The $16 million represents a substantial increase over the combined amount of business the companies have historically placed with minority-owned firms in a year. The companies also pledge to join forces with other segments of the legal community to support the inclusion of such firms among those that serve their legal needs.
The catalyst for the initiative was a study commissioned by DuPont Legal, which revealed that the number of successful minority-owned law firms representing U.S. corporations has dwindled over the past 15 years. The report, titled, Study on the Status of Minority-Owned Law Firms in Today's Legal Environment, cites limited access to corporate counsel, perceived inexperience, and racial bias, among other factors, as obstacles preventing minority-owned law firms from obtaining work from Fortune 500 companies.
In late 2004, Stacey J. Mobley, DuPont senior vice president and general counsel, and Thomas L. Sager, DuPont vice president and assistant general counsel, convened an intensive forum aimed at devising the strategies required to promote corporate access for firms owned by attorneys of color. Corporate Counsel from General Motors, Shell Oil, Sara Lee, and Wal-Mart participated in this ground-breaking event. The forum included minority law firm owners, minority attorneys at majority firms, general counsel, managing partners from majority firms, and representatives from the American Bar Association, the national minority bar associations, the Minority Corporate Counsel Association, the Association of Corporate Counsel, and the National Association of Minority and Women Owned Law Firms. It resulted in a specific action plan.
Along with their commitment to direct an aggregate of $16 million in business to minority-owned law firms in 2006, the chief legal officers of these five companies are lending their support to other anticipated actions aimed at addressing some of the problems identified in the study.
ANNOUNCING MCCA'S 2006 EVENTS
Save the date! We look forward to seeing you in 2006 at our dynamic events. Mark your calendars now and plan to network your way to success in 2006.
- The South/Southwest region diversity dinner will be held in Houston at the Intercontinental Hotel on February 23, 2006.
- The Midwest region diversity dinner will be held in Chicago at the Marriott Chicago Downtown on March 15, 2006.
- The 5th Annual CLE Expo will be held in Chicago at the Marriott Chicago Downtown on March 15–17, 2006.
- The 3rd Annual General Counsel Invitational will be held in Miami at the Doral Golf Resort & Spa on April 7–9, 2006.
- The Mid-Atlantic region diversity dinner will be held in Washington, DC at the JW Marriott on June 13, 2006.
- The Western region diversity dinner will be held in Los Angeles at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel on October 3, 2006.
- The 7th Annual Creating Pathways to Diversity conference will be held in New York City at the Marriott Marquis Hotel on November 8, 2006.
- The Northeast region diversity dinner will be held in New York City at the Marriott Marquis Hotel on November 8, 2006.
REMEMBERING FORMER NBA PRESIDENT CLYDE BAILEY
MCCA® notes with sadness the recent death of former National Bar Association (NBA) President Clyde E. Bailey, Sr. Bailey died on Monday, December 12, 2005.
Bailey was elected president-elect of the NBA in July 2002 and served as the association's 61st president from July 2003–August 2004. To his term of office, Bailey brought considerable corporate experience and leadership, leveraging his skills in international corporate affairs to enhance and develop new relations between the NBA and African governments, legal institutions, and law societies. He was also a distinguished patent attorney at Eastman Kodak Company, where he served with distinction and was an inspiration to many.
In 2004, MCCA named Bailey as the recipient of the Trailblazer Award in recognition of his many accomplishments as a practicing attorney and contributions in furtherance of diversity. MCCA and its board of directors extend their condolences to his wife Dr. Jean Bailey and the entire Bailey family.
Expressions of sympathy may be directed to: The Clyde E. Bailey Memorial Fund for Services to Our Communities, National Bar Association, 1225 11th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001. The fund intends to award its first scholarships in June of 2006.
CORRECTIONS
- The article titled, "MCCA® Annual Report on General Counsel of Color Leading Fortune 500 Companies" appearing in the May/June 2005 issue of Diversity & the Bar® incorrectly listed Charles Tanabe of Liberty Media Corporation as the first Native American general counsel of a Fortune 500 company. Tanabe's background is Japanese American. This article also inadvertently did not list Michael Futch as general counsel of Granite Construction Incorporated, a Fortune 1000 company. Futch's background is African American.
- The feature titled, "MCCA® Annual Survey of Fortune 500 Women General Counsel" appearing in the Sept./Oct. 2005 issue incorrectly listed Virginia Dowling as the general counsel of Ryerson Inc., a Fortune 1000 company. Dowling is actually the deputy general counsel and secretary. Joyce E. Mims is the vice president and general counsel of Ryerson Inc. The article also did not list Ann Harlan as the vice president, general counsel and secretary of The J.M. Smucker Company, a Fortune 1000 company.
From the January/February 2006 issue of Diversity & The Bar®