MCCA Hosts 2015 Diversity Gala

Minority Corporate Counsel Association Hosts 2015 Diversity Gala
MCCA Hosts Annual Diversity Gala at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
Celebrating Champions of Diversity in Corporate Legal Departments

WASHINGTON D.C. – Today, the Minority Corporate Counsel Association (MCCA) hosted its annual Diversity Gala, the premier national awards program that honors leading corporate departments and individuals who champion diversity and inclusion. The gala, emceed by MSNBC and NBC News anchor Richard Lui, incorporated a series of events including a welcome reception, presentation of awards, and a live performance by the Dance Theatre of Harlem.

The prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to the Hon. Deval L. Patrick, former Governor of Massachusetts, for his tremendous work in advocating for supporting diversity and inclusion throughout his distinguished career.

“I am honored to accept the prestigious 2015 Lifetime Achievement Award from MCCA”, said Governor Patrick. “I have fought for diversity and inclusion in every facet of my career and will continue to do so, with the help of other important champions of diversity such as MCCA”.

The Employer of Choice Award was given to companies in five regions for their work in advocating and maintaining diverse and inclusive corporate legal departments. This year’s awardees were: Fannie Mae, for the Mid-Atlantic Region; BMO Financial Group, for the Midwest Region; Darden Restaurants, for the South Region; Southern California Edison Company, for the West Region; and New York Life Insurance Company, for the Northeast Region.

“We are proud to honor Governor Deval Patrick, as well as the 2015 Employer of Choice awardees at this year’s MCCA Diversity Gala,” said MCCA President and CEO Joseph K. West. “Their hard work and commitment to diversity and inclusion has exponentially moved the issue forward.”

Brad Smith, Executive Vice-President & General Counsel of the Legal & Corporate Affairs at Microsoft, delivered the keynote address, speaking on the importance of more diverse and inclusive legal departments in America’s corporations. “Businesses must be as diverse as the customers they serve and legal departments that want to have business impact need to be diverse too, ” said Smith.  “As a profession we’re not where we need to be. As leaders, lawyers, law firms and law schools we need to do more, and I really appreciate the leadership of MCCA in mobilizing our community to do better.”

This year’s Diversity Gala was generously sponsored by Microsoft, Morgan Lewis, Walmart, and Womble Carlyle. The MCCA Diversity Gala was preceded by the Creating Pathways to Diversity® Conference, a premier diversity and inclusion conference which offers comprehensive educational programs focused on global diversity, inclusive leadership and talent optimization.

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