NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE DISTRIBUTION
August 15, 2017
CONTACT:
Sophia Piliouras: (202) 739-5902
Sophia.Piliouras@mcca.com
MCCA ANNOUNCES FINALISTS FOR 2017 EMPLOYER OF CHOICE AWARD FROM LEADING CORPORATE LEGAL DEPARTMENTS
Washington, D.C. – MCCA, the Minority Corporate Counsel Association, announced today the five finalists for the 2017 Employer of Choice Awards. The Employer of Choice Award is designed to spotlight industry leaders who have a commitment to and succeed at creating and building an inclusive corporate legal department that will make MCCA’s vision “to make the next generation of legal leaders as diverse as the world we live in” a reality.
“Building an inclusive corporate legal department requires commitment from top leadership,” said Jean Lee, MCCA President and CEO. “We are excited to recognize the five leading companies who have demonstrated leadership by speaking out, trying new approaches, and being personally accountable for improving the diversity of their respective departments.”
The Employer of Choice Award honors companies that recognize the value and positive impact of diversity and inclusion in the workplace and on the bottom line. The 2017 Employer of Choice Award finalists (in alphabetical order) are:
American Express Company, New York, NY, is recognized for their strong promotion plan for diverse attorneys and linking diversity program contributions and results directly to attorney compensation and annual performance reviews.
Discover Financial Services, Riverwoods, IL, is recognized for its diversity recruitment and retention strategies within their legal department, where 63% are diverse attorneys and more than half are women.
Duke Energy Corporation, Charlotte, NC, is recognized for its formal mentoring program where attorneys are provided assignments with high visibility, exposure to important clients and senior executives, and long-term career advice.
Verizon Communications, Basking Ridge, NJ, is recognized for its commitment to encouraging and incentivizing law firms to staff diverse attorneys in leadership roles on its matters.
“This year’s finalists are leading examples of legal departments that have created and enhanced a diverse and inclusive environment, showing us where the legal profession should be headed,” said Don H. Liu, Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer, and Corporate Secretary for Target Corporation, and Co-Chair of the MCCA Diversity Gala Host Committee.
The winner will be selected based on a review and scoring of the nominee’s efforts in recruitment, retention, mentoring, promotion, and implementation of innovative or effective practices that break barriers to entry in the legal profession.
All finalists will be showcased and the winner of the 2017 Employer of Choice Award will be announced on October 4th during MCCA’s Diversity Gala, a red-carpet event at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.
Founded in 1997, MCCA is committed to advance the hiring, retention, and promotion of diverse lawyers in law departments and law firms by providing research, best practices, professional development and training; and through pipeline initiatives. MCCA’s work has been recognized with awards from the National Minority Business Council, Inc., the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the National Gay and Lesbian Law Association, and the Association of Corporate Counsel.
For more information on MCCA’s Employer of Choice Award, Pathways to Diversity Conference, and Diversity Gala, please visit www.mcca.com.