Minority Corporate Counsel Association Names Microsoft Corporation’s Mary Snapp Chair-Elect

Minority Corporate Counsel Association Names Microsoft Corporation’s Mary Snapp Chair-Elect

Washington, D.C. – The Minority Corporate Counsel Association Inc., (MCCA) announces the election of Mary E. Snapp as Chair-elect of its Board of Directors. She will be Chair-elect through 2010 and then serve as the board’s Chair beginning in 2011.

Ms. Snapp is Corporate Vice President and Deputy General Counsel of the Online Services and Advanced Strategies practice group in Microsoft Corporation’s Legal and Corporate Affairs Department. She leads the work of 50 attorneys and legal professionals who provide front line legal support to all of Microsoft’s Online Services Division, which included: Microsoft Research, the Health Solutions and Trustworthy Computing Groups, Windows Azure, and Microsoft’s Search, Advertising Platform and MSN products and services.

Ms. Snapp has served as Executive Sponsor of Legal and Corporate Affairs’ diversity and inclusion efforts since 2002, overseeing the development of the department’s diversity strategy and leadership team.  Under Ms. Snapp’s leadership, the department developed a structured Diversity Team that has grown to 50 employee volunteers driving projects and events in support of Microsoft’s diversity and inclusion strategy.  Ms. Snapp is a frequent presenter on diversity and inclusion matters inside Microsoft and at conferences and bar association meetings around the country.

Before joining Microsoft in 1988, she was an attorney at what is now the Preston Gates and Ellis lawn firm in Seattle. Prior to that, she was a traveling lecturer, staff writer and policy analyst for General Motors Corporation.

Ms. Snapp is a member of the American Bar Association (ABA) Forum on Communications Law, and serves on the ABA’s Division for Public Education’s Standing Committee on Gavel Awards. She serves on the board of directors for the YWCA of Seattle, King and Snohomish County, and has been on MCCA’s board since 2006.

“We are very pleased that Mary Snapp has accepted the post of Chair-elect,” said Executive Director Veta Richardson. “Her proven leadership skills and commitment to MCCA will help us move forward with our mission and deal with major issues in the coming year.”

The Minority Corporate Counsel Association advocates for the expanded hiring, promotion, and retention of minority attorneys in corporate legal departments and the law firms that serve them. MCCA furthers its mission by publishing research on achieving diversity and best practices in the legal profession, honoring innovative diversity programs with its Employer of Choice and Thomas L. Sager awards, and assisting diverse law students through the Lloyd M. Johnson, Jr. Scholarship Program. 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.

Founded in 1997, MCCA is headquartered in Washington, D.C., and also has a Southeast regional office in Atlanta, Ga. For more information, go to mcca.com.