March 3rd, 2021
March 3, 2021 — The Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD) is proud to announce its 2021 classes of 418 LCLD Fellows and 404 LCLD Pathfinders.
These talented and diverse, mid-career attorneys (Fellows) and early-career attorneys (Pathfinders) have been selected as participants in two of the most comprehensive legal talent development programs in the country.
Now in its tenth year, the LCLD Fellows Program is an ambitious, highly structured initiative built to increase diversity at the leadership levels of the nation’s law firms and corporate legal departments. The LCLD Pathfinder Program, which was launched in 2015, is designed to train both in-house and law firm attorneys in critical career-development strategies including leadership and the building of professional networks.
“Our Fellows and Pathfinder programs provide unique learning experiences designed to empower a new generation of lawyers,” said Ellen Dwyer, LCLD Chair and Chair of the Executive Committee at Crowell & Moring LLP. “These talented individuals have been singled out for leadership by their organizations and represent a broad spectrum of backgrounds as diverse as the country they serve.”
In addition to the exclusive leadership and professional-development curricula presented at class meetings that have been the foundation of both programs, 2021 Fellows and Pathfinders will have access to several new virtual event series that will provide additional small-group interaction and relationship-building opportunities amongst their peers.
In the year-long Fellows Program, Fellows will have access to virtual professional development tracks that focus on the unique needs of in-house and law firm attorneys, as well as a virtual speaker series that will highlight leadership and career development.
In the seven-month Pathfinder Program, Pathfinders will have an extended series of virtual advice and informal networking events hosted by LCLD Alumni, as well as live, virtual follow-up sessions on independent and peer group assignments.
Both programs will feature topical interest sessions for small groups and virtual regional meetings for their respective participants. This year's participants will also have access to a range of additional virtual programming that was developed for the greater LCLD community in 2020.
“Ensuring that the LCLD community remains connected and engaged in the current environment is essential,” said LCLD President Robert J. Grey Jr. “We’re using virtual meeting platforms so that our Fellows and Pathfinders can continue to network and build relationships until they can safely meet in person.”
Upon completion of their Fellowship and Pathfinder years, the classes of 2021 will become part of a community of nearly 4,000 LCLD Alumni who mentor younger diverse attorneys, continue with their own career training, and maintain a dynamic national network.
This year’s Fellows and Pathfinders have been selected by more than 300 LCLD member corporations and law firms to participate in these programs. Within their organizations, these participants have distinguished themselves from their colleagues.
Fellows have proven to be indispensable to key clients and teams, invested in attorney mentoring and professional development, and on a trajectory towards leadership positions.
“We’re fortunate to have an extraordinarily focused and committed membership, and the Fellows and Pathfinders invariably reflect that,” said Grey. “All of us are eager for results and will persist until we see real changes in the makeup of the leadership of the profession.”
For more information on LCLD, visit www.lcldnet.org.