Leadership Council on Legal Diversity Names Ellen Dwyer of Crowell & Moring Law Firm as Chair, Kim Rivera of HP Inc. Named Chair-Elect
New Chair, Chair-Elect, New Board Members Named by Leadership Council on Legal Diversity
RICHMOND, Va., Nov. 26, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The Leadership Council on Legal Diversity announced today that Ellen Moran Dwyer of Crowell and Moring LLP will take over as Chair, leading one of the nation's pioneer organizations promoting diversity in the legal profession. Kim Rivera, President, Strategy and Business Management and Chief Legal Officer of HP Inc., has been named LCLD Chair-Elect.
Dwyer, Chair of the Executive Committee of the law firm of Crowell & Moring, will assume the post Jan. 1, 2020. She succeeds Laura Stein, Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Affairs for The Clorox Company, who chaired the organization from 2017 to 2019.
"We are incredibly fortunate to have these two widely respected individuals take on these leadership positions," said Robert J. Grey, Jr., President of LCLD which counts more than 300 corporate chief legal officers and law firm managing partners as members. "They have distinguished themselves in their own careers as well as having demonstrated a deep commitment to the cause of diversity and inclusion in the legal profession.
"It's impossible to thank Laura Stein adequately for the leadership she provided over a three-year tenure. She sharpened our strategic focus, expanded our programs, and oversaw growth that could only be called extraordinary."
"When I consider the work that Ellen has done already as Chair of the Board's Strategy and Innovation Committee," said Stein, "I cannot wait to see what she does as Chair of the Board. I'm equally excited about Kim as Chair-Elect, knowing well her outstanding work at Clorox as our prior head of International Legal Services."
Dwyer's leadership experience and her commitment to diversity within the legal profession are longstanding and multi-faceted. A partner in Crowell & Moring's employment practice, she served as the firm's managing partner for eight years, general counsel, and chair of its promotions, diversity and lawyer development committees during her career. A driving force in creating the legal industry's first sponsorship program to advance talented women and diverse lawyers, Dwyer was recently recognized by Corporate Counsel for her innovative leadership as part of their "Women, Influence and Power in Law." She was also named one of America's most innovative managing partners by Law360, in part for her efforts to recruit and retain diverse attorneys.
"It is an honor to serve as chair of LCLD, and I look forward to partnering with in-house counsel and other law firm leaders who share my passion to create environments where women and diverse lawyers can thrive, gain sponsorship, and make enduring positive changes in the profession for the next generation," said Dwyer. "This is an important moment in society, especially for diverse talent, to be visible, to be heard, and to have the agency and opportunities to succeed."
In 2019, Crowell & Moring achieved Mansfield Rule 2.0 Certification and for the eighth consecutive year, it ranked among Working Mother's "Best Law Firms for Women." The firm has received a 100 percent score on the Human Rights Campaign's Corporate Equality Index for eight consecutive years and was named an LCLD Top Performer during the last four consecutive years, earning the LCLD Compass Award in 2018 and 2019.
Kim Rivera has more than 25 years of experience advising Fortune 500 companies on corporate transactions, governance matters, securities, compliance, risk management, audit, and other issues. Before joining HP Inc. in 2016, she was Chief Legal Officer for DaVita Health Care Partners.
As of 2016, HP Inc. has been recognized as having the most diverse board of directors of any tech Fortune 500 company in America. HP Inc. has received perfect scores on the Disability Equality Index and Corporate Equality Index and was named an LCLD Top Performer in 2018 and 2019.
In a recent interview with Chief Executive magazine, she said: "Diversity is a topic I have been engaged with for more than twenty years, mostly as it relates to the legal profession, but also as it relates to corporate America, women, and underrepresented minorities in positions of power."
"HP's legal holdback initiative worked—and it worked fast. Over the course of two years, the compliance rate of HP's Law firm's doubled from 46% at launch to 93%," said Rivera. "This translates into more diverse attorneys working on HP matters and developing increased economic leverage within their firms."
Rivera was also instrumental in bringing the 2019 LCLD Sustainable Partnership conference to the West Coast and hosted the conference's first meeting at HP Inc.
LCLD also announced that Ben Wilson, Chairman of the law firm of Beveridge & Diamond has been named Secretary, and Eric Friedman, Executive Partner of the law firm Skadden, has been named Treasurer.
Under Ben Wilson's leadership, Beveridge & Diamond has been named an "Environmental Practice Group of the Year" by Law360 for two years in a row, named "Environmental Firm of the Year" by U.S. News- Best Lawyers, and ranked Tier 1 nationwide for Environmental Law and Environmental Litigation by U.S. News-Best Lawyers. He has been recognized for his leadership in diversity and inclusion by more than 20 national organizations and publications. Wilson received a 2014 Spirit of Excellence Award from the American Bar Association (ABA) Commission on Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Profession, and a 2013 Dedication to Diversity and Justice Award from the ABA Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources. In 2012 and 2013, Wilson was named as a Top 100 Black Attorney by On Being A Black Lawyer. In 2012, Wilson established the African American General Counsel and Managing Partners Network. In 2008, Wilson founded the Diverse Partners Network. Beveridge & Diamond was named an LCLD Top Performer in 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019.
As Executive Partner, Eric Friedman has built upon Skadden's long-standing commitment to fostering a diverse and inclusive environment. Recent efforts include expanding the firm's 1L Scholars Program, which introduces diverse first-year law students to both law firm and in-house practice, and its Women's Leadership Forum, which provides workshops, leadership coaching and opportunities to build strong peer networks. Skadden received the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund's first-ever Law Firm of the Year Award, and Friedman was honored with the NYC Bar Association Diversity & Inclusion Champion Award. Skadden was named an LCLD Top Performer in 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019.
LCLD has named four new members to its board of directors: Deneen Donnley, Senior Vice President and incoming General Counsel, Consolidated Edison of New York, Inc.; Maryanne Lavan, Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, Lockheed Martin Corp.; Thomas O'Neill, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, Exelon Corp.; and Mitchell Zuklie, Chairman and CEO, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP.
"LCLD is fortunate to welcome such a talented, experienced, and diverse slate of leaders to the board of directors," said Grey. "These four individuals bring their own personal commitment to diversity and inclusion and will be instrumental in helping LCLD set and reach new and ambitious goals."
Deneen Donnley joined Consolidated Edison of New York, Inc. in 2019 as Senior Vice President and incoming General Counsel, after nine years at USAA where she served as Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer, and Secretary. She previously spent ten years as general counsel at ING DIRECT. Donnley is active with DirectWomen, an organization working to increase representation of women on corporate boards. She joined LCLD in 2017.
Maryanne Lavan joined Lockheed Martin in 1990 and became Senior Vice President and General Counsel in 2010. Lockheed Martin has earned recognition for its commitment to diversity, including a "Top 50 Employer" from Equal Opportunity magazine. Lockheed Martin joined LCLD in 2015. Lavan has hosted an LCLD Fellows Alumni Regional Roundtable in Washington, D.C. and has been a corporate host of a Sustainable Partnership Program for LCLD Fellows. In addition to participating in LCLD's Success in Law School Mentoring Program and the Fellows Program, Lockheed Martin was named an LCLD Top Performer in 2019.
Thomas O'Neill has been with Exelon Corp in various roles since 2001, and he became General Counsel in January 2017. The Exelon Law Dept is recognized as a leader in pro bono and D&I. In 2017, for example, the Law Dept received the Pro Bono Institute's Laura D. Zelon Award for its work to improve access to justice, and in 2019 was named Corporate Law Department of the Year in Maryland. An LCLD member organization since 2014, Exelon participates in LCLD's Fellows program, its Pathfinder Program, and its Success in Law School Program. Exelon hosted a Learning Experience in 2019. Exelon was named an LCLD Top Performer in 2018 and 2019.
Orrick Chair & CEO Mitch Zuklie has transformed the firm's talent model – earning a top 15 ranking on Fortune's 2019 list of the top 100 companies to work for. Zuklie has been a proponent of innovative collaborations between law firms and corporate legal departments, including the creation at Orrick of a Diversity Advisory Board and a Women's Leadership Advisory Board – each comprising leaders from the firm's clients. He has also led the firm's efforts to co-found the Move The Needle Fund, a five-year collaboration among five law firms and 25+ corporate legal departments to improve the diversity of our profession. Orrick has earned Mansfield Plus status for the past two years, holds the LCLD Top Performer and Compass Award and participates actively in LCLD's Fellows Program, its Pathfinder Program, the 1L Scholars Program, and LCLD's Success in Law School Mentoring Program.
"These are individuals who set the pace for others in the profession," said Grey. "Their example and their contribution to diversity and inclusion will be profound."
SOURCE Leadership Council on Legal Diversity
Share this article