Diversity News

Congratulations South/Southwest Region Award Winners

At its annual south/southwest region diversity dinner in February, MCCA® presented awards to the legal departments of two leading companies and a law firm for their successful diversity efforts and initiatives.

Accepting the Employer of Choice award on behalf of their law departments were: Thomas A. Mars, senior vice president and general counsel, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. and Nathan P. Moore, senior vice president, general counsel and secretary, Mary Kay Inc.

The Sager award, which is named in honor of DuPont's vice president and general counsel, Thomas L. Sager, is given to a law firm in the region for its commitment to improve hiring, retention, and the promotion of minority attorneys. The Sager award was presented to Akerman Senterfitt and was accepted by Tom Cardwell, chairman, Akerman Senterfitt.

The keynote speaker was David Mandell, executive director, Houston Volunteer Lawyers Program, Inc.

MCCA'S 5TH Annual CLE Expo
Mark Your Calendar Now!
Join MCCA® on March 15–17, 2006 at the Marriott Chicago Downtown hotel for one of its most important events.

Save the date! 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 able to meet your CLE requirements because MCCA is planning more than 25 different sessions that 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.

MCCA'S 2006 EVENTS
Don't forget to mark your calendars! Join us in 2006 as we gather to promote inclusiveness and network for success.

• 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.

MCCA® DEVELOPS "CALL TO ACTION" WEB SITE
MCCA® recently unveiled the first web site devoted entirely to the Call to Action, whereby over 90 Fortune 500 chief legal officers have made commitments to:

• make diversity a priority in their own departments,
• actively look for opportunities with law firms that distinguish themselves in diversity issues, and
• end or limit relationships with firms whose track records reflect a lack of meaningful interest in diversity.

The web site (www.CLOCALLTOACTION.com) was developed by MCCA at the request of Roderick Palmore, general counsel, Sara Lee in order to field many frequently asked questions regarding the Call to Action.

If you have questions or would like to learn more about this initiative, go to www.CLOCALLTOACTION.com.

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From the March/April 2006 issue of Diversity & The Bar^®