Savoy Magazine releases their Spring issue featuring the 2015 Most Influential Black Lawyers. This comprehensive list features the top partners from leading national law firms and corporate counsel from Fortune 1000 companies.
With the release of their Spring Issue, Savoy announces their 2015 Most Influential Black Lawyers featured list. The listing is comprised of the “best of the best” of Black lawyers that are partners within leading national law firms and also corporate counsel from Fortune 1000 corporations. As diversity and inclusion for legal professionals continues to grow, Savoy’s listing of “top lawyers” emerges with an influential cross section of legal professionals representing a diverse range of expertise with national and global responsibilities.
“Savoy is proud to be at the vanguard of recognizing excellence and success within private industry and corporate professionals,” said L.P. Green, II, Publisher, Savoy Magazine. “Recognizing the Most Influential Black Lawyers is a natural extension of our ongoing coverage of influencers and achievers that began with the creation of the Most Influential Black Executives and Most Influential Black Women listings. We remain committed to recognizing and exposing the world to the full spectrum of excellence within the African American community.”
The expansive new issue of Savoy features a cover story on Theodore “Ted” V. Wells, Jr., Partner and Co-Chair of Litigation, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, LLP. Wells is a globally respected lawyer and was named one of “The Decade’s Most Influential Lawyers” by the National Law Journal. Wells is also leading the NFL’s “Deflate Gate” investigation regarding under inflated game balls provided during the playoffs for the Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots.
Savoy focuses this issue on the top lawyers, showcasing visionaries, leaders and advocates – including partners and counsel – within the legal profession who are widely recognized for their professionalism, protection of rights and community service. The latest issue of Savoy features profiles and coverage of:
- Dennis Archer, First African American President of the American Bar Association and former Mayor of Detroit
- Paulette Brown, President Elect of the American Bar Association, First African American Woman elected to this position, Partner, Locke Lord Edwards LLP
- Robert Grey, President, Leadership Council on Legal Diversity
- Laurie N. Robinson Haden, Founder and CEO of Corporate Counsel Women of Color
- Kamala D. Harris, 32nd Attorney General of the State of California
- Eric Holder, United States Attorney General
- Sherrilyn Ifill, President & Director, NAACP Legal Defense & Education Fund, Inc.
- Loretta Lynch, United States Attorney General Nominee
- Pamela J. Meanes, President, National Bar Association
- Charles Ogletree, Jr., Jesse Climenko Professor of Law, Harvard Law School
- Rick Palmore, Former General Counsel of General Mills and his work to expand diversity in the legal profession
“Savoy is proud to congratulate those recognized within the 2015 Most Influential Black Lawyers listing. We salute their achievement and leadership working at the highest levels within firms of influence and global corporations,” added Green. This is the definitive and most comprehensive list of Black lawyers compiled within the last five years and we’re proud to share their impact with our readers.”
Most Influential Black Lawyers 2015
Joseph B. Alexander, Jr., Managing Partner, Southeast US, DLA Piper LLP (US)
Cheryl D. Barnes, Partner, Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP
Stephen D. Barnes, Partner, Morris Yorn Barnes Levine Krintzman Rubenstein Kohner & Gellman
Sheila S. Boston, Partner, Kaye Scholer LLP
A. Shonn Brown, Partner, Gruber Hurst Johansen Hail Shank LLP
Paulette Brown, Partner & President Elect, American Bar Association, Locke Lord Edwards LLP
Marla R. Butler, Assistant Managing Partner, New York Office, Robins Kaplan LLP
Todd Chandler, Partner, Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP
Inajo Davis Chappell, Partner, Chair of the Nonprofit Group, Ulmer & Berne LLP
Shauna Johnson Clark, Partner, Head of the US Employment and Labor Practice, Norton Rose Fulbright LLP
Brent O.E. Clinkscale, Partner, Head of Litigation for South Carolina Offices, Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, LLP
William E. Cook, Jr., Partner, Arnold & Porter LLP
Michelle A. Cooke, Partner, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP
Benjamin L. Crump, Partner, Parks and Crump, LLC
John W. Daniels, Jr., Chairman Emeritus, Quarles & Brady LLP
Ahmed J. Davis, Principal, Fish & Richardson P.C.
Lisa E. Davis, Partner, Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz PC
Cari K. Dawson, Partner, Chair of the Class Action Practice Team, Alston & Bird LLP
Richard H. Deane Jr., Managing Partner, Atlanta Office, Jones Day LLP
Joseph M. Drayton, Partner, Cooley LLP
Martiné “Marty” R. Dunn, Partner, Dinsmore & Shohl LLP
Barack Echols, Partner, Kirkland & Ellis LLP
Lynnette D. Espy-Williams, Partner, Cozen O’Connor
Sherrie L. Farrell, Managing Partner, Detroit Office, Dykema Gossett PLLC
Kelly-Ann Gibbs-Cartwright, Managing Principal, Miami Office, Holland & Knight LLP
Jeanne M. Gills, Partner, Vice Chair of the Intellectual Property Department, Foley & Lardner LLP
Denise M. Grant, Partner, Shearman & Sterling LLP
Ernest Greer, Managing Shareholder, Atlanta Office, Greenberg Traurig, LLP
Robert J. Grey Jr., Partner & President, Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD), Hunton & Williams LLP
Keir Gumbs, Partner, Covington and Burling LLP
Roy E. Hadley, Jr., Partner, Co-Chair of the Privacy & Information Security Team, Thompson Hine LLP
Denise E. Hanna, Partner, Chair of the Health Care Practice Group, Locke Lord Edwards LLP
Emery K. Harlan, Chairman, Gonzalez Saggio & Harlan LLP
Peter C. Harvey, Partner, Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP
Mark Hatcher, Partner, BakerHostetler LLP
Peter L. Haviland, Partner, Ballard Spahr LLP
Tracy Richelle High, Deputy Managing Partner, Litigation Group, Sullivan & Cromwell LLP
Craig Holden, Partner & President, State Bar of California, Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP
Patricia Brown Holmes, Partner, Head of the Compliance, Investigations and White Collar Group, Schiff Hardin LLP
Earsa R. Jackson, Partner, Chair of the Franchise & Distribution Practice, Strasburger & Price, LLP
Lacy Johnson, Partner, Co-Chair of the Public Affairs and Gaming Group, Ice Miller LLP
Dionysia Johnson-Massie, Shareholder, Littler Mendelson P.C.
Tyree P. Jones, Partner, Reed Smith LLP
Weldon H. Latham, Shareholder, Chair of the Corporate Diversity Counseling Group, Jackson Lewis P.C.
Allegra J. Lawrence-Hardy, Partner, Co-Head of the Labor & Employment Team, Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP
Tanya Lawson, Partner, Sedgwick LLP
Denise J. Lewis, Partner, Founder of the Urban Redevelopment Practice, Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn LLP
Michelle N. Lipkowitz, Partner, Saul Ewing LLP
Kassem L. Lucas, Partner, Pepper Hamilton LLP
Michael C. Marsh, Partner, Akerman LLP
Curtis J. Martin, II, Attorney, Miller & Martin PLLC
George Keith Martin, Managing Partner, Richmond Office, McGuireWoods LLP
Samuel Matchett, Partner, King & Spalding LLP
Joseph McCoy, Managing Partner, Chicago Office, Bryan Cave LLP
Lorraine McGowen, Partner, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP
Pamela J. Meanes, Partner & President of the National Bar Association, Thompson Coburn LLP
Darrell Miller, Managing Partner, Chair of the Entertainment Department, Fox Rothschild LLP
Alan K. Mills, Partner, Barnes & Thornburg LLP
Leslie D. Minier, Partner, Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP
Cornell Leverette Moore, Of Counsel, Dorsey & Whitney LLP
Portia R. Moore, Partner, Davis Wright Tremaine LLP
Frederick R. Nance, Regional Managing Partner, Squire Patton Boggs LLP
Andre Owens, Partner, WilmerHale LLP
Daryl D. Parks, Partner, Parks and Crump, LLC
Diane Patrick, Co-Managing Partner, Boston Office, Ropes & Gray LLP
Luis R. Penalver, Partner, Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP
Anthony T. Pierce, Managing Partner, Washington D.C. Office, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP
Obrea Poindexter, Partner, Co-Chair of the Financial Services Group, Morrison & Foerster LLP
David D. Powell, Jr., Shareholder, Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C.
Shemin V. Proctor, Managing Partner, Washington D.C. Office, Andrews Kurth LLP
Donald Prophete, Partner, Constangy, Brooks & Smith, LLP
Ricky Raven, Partner, Thompson & Knight LLP
Stephen Robinson, Partner, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
Alex G. Romain, Partner, Williams & Connolly LLP
Michelle Rudd, Partner, Stoel Rives LLP
Angela Russell, Managing Partner, Baltimore Office, Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker LLP
Dawn Siler-Nixon, Partner, Ford & Harrison LLP
Robyn Minter Smyers, Managing Partner, Cleveland Office, Thompson Hine LLP
Grace Speights, Managing Partner, Washington D.C. Office, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP
T. Reed Stephens, Partner, McDermott Will & Emery LLP
Karen L. Stevenson, Of Counsel, Buchalter Nemer LLP
Paul W. Sweeney, Jr., Administrative Partner, Los Angeles Office, K&L Gates LLP
Errol B. Taylor, Partner, Head of the Pharmaceutical Patent Litigation Practice, Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP
Nigel Telman, Partner, Co-Head of the Employment Litigation & Arbitration Group, Proskauer Rose LLP
Anita Wallace Thomas, Partner, Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP
Clyde Tinnen, Partner, Kelley Drye & Warren LLP
Rossie E. Turman III, Partner, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
Helen E. Tuttle, Partner, Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP
Kendal H. Tyre, Partner, Chair of the Africa Group, Nixon Peabody LLP
James L. Waters, Partner, Haynes and Boone, LLP
Maurice A. Watson, Chairman, Husch Blackwell LLP
Sanford E. Watson, Partner, Tucker Ellis LLP
Theodore V. Wells, Jr., Partner Co-Chair of the Litigation Department, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP
William K. Whitner, Partner, Chair of the Litigation Department, Paul Hastings LLP
Fletcher H. “Flash” Wiley, Of Counsel, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP
Laura A. Wilkinson, Partner, Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP
Bart H. Williams, Partner, Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP
Gregory B. Williams, Partner, Fox Rothschild LLP
Benjamin F. Wilson, Managing Principal, Beveridge & Diamond P.C.
Thurman W. Zollicoffer, Jr., Partner, Whiteford Taylor & Preston LLP
Most Influential Black Lawyers 2015 – Corporate Counsel
Damien Atkins, Senior Vice President, Deputy General Counsel (Corporate) and Chief Compliance Officer, AOL Inc.
Sharon R. Barner, Vice President, General Counsel, Cummins, Inc.
Dominic Blue, Vice President & Assistant General Counsel, Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company
N. Cornell Boggs, III, Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, Dow Corning
Alfreda Bradley-Coar, General Counsel, GE Healthcare
James T. Breedlove, Senior Vice President, General Counsel & Secretary, Praxair, Inc.
Jason L. Brown, Vice President, General Counsel & Secretary, Dyson, Inc.
Marcus V. Brown, Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Entergy Corporation
Denise R. Cade, Senior Vice President, General Counsel, Corporate Secretary and Chief Compliance Officer, SunCoke Energy
Tracy-Elizabeth Clay, Senior Vice President, Legal Affairs and General Counsel, Teach For America
Bevelyn Coleman, Executive Vice President, Deputy General Counsel, Wells Fargo
Mark C. Darrell, Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer, The Laclede Group
David C. Drummond, Senior Vice President, Corporate Development and Chief Legal Officer, Google
Ron J. Edwards, Global Information Technology Counsel, Deere & Company
Linda M. Gadsby, Vice President & Deputy General Counsel, Scholastic Inc.
Taa Grays, Assistant General Counsel and Chief of Staff, MetLife, Inc.
Bernard Gugar, Senior Vice President & General Counsel, Harpo, Inc.
Kimberley D. Harris, Executive Vice President, General Counsel, NBCUniversal
Brett J. Hart, Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary, United Airlines
Reginald D. Hedgebeth, General Counsel and Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer, Spectra Energy
Reginald Henderson, Vice President & Associate General Counsel, Lowe’s Companies, Inc.
Kirkland Hicks, Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary, Towers Watson & Co.
David S. Huntley, Chief Compliance Officer, AT&T, Inc.
Michelle C. Ifill, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, Verizon
Bruce Jackson, Assistant General Counsel, Microsoft Corporation
Derek Jackson, Senior Vice President & General Counsel, Miami Marlins
Phyllis A. James, Executive Vice President, Special Counsel for Litigation, MGM Resorts International
Joia M. Johnson, Chief Legal Officer, General Counsel and Secretary, Hanesbrands Inc.
Damon Jones, Senior Vice President & General Counsel, Washington Nationals Baseball Club
Nicole Jones, Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Cigna
JoAnn Lee, Assistant General Counsel, Exxon Mobil Corporation
E.M. Lysonge, Vice President, Legal Affairs & Assistant Secretary, Churchill Downs Incorporated
Angelique Strong Marks, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary, MAHLE Industries Inc.
Michele Coleman Mayes, Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary, The New York Public Library
Teri Plummer McClure, Chief Legal, Communications and Compliance Officer, UPS
Rhonda Joy McLean, Deputy General Counsel, Time Inc.
Michelle Miller, Vice President, Senior Counsel, Employment Law, Medtronic
Elizabeth D. Moore, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, Consolidated Edison, Inc.
Phyllis Golden Morey, Vice President and Deputy General Counsel of Litigation, Ingersoll Rand
John E. Page, Senior Vice President and Chief Corporate Social Responsibility and Legal Officer, Golden State Foods Corp.
Roderick A. (Rick) Palmore, Executive Vice President, General Counsel, Chief Compliance and Risk Management Officer, Secretary, General Mills, Inc.
Rodney C. Pratt, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, Converse, Inc.
Donald Remy, Executive Vice President and General Counsel, The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)
Christopher P. Reynolds, Group Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, Toyota Motor North America
Laurie N. Robinson Haden, Senior Vice President and Assistant General Counsel, CBS Corporation
Teresa Wynn Roseborough, Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, The Home Depot
Kim K.W. Rucker, Executive Vice President, Corporate & Legal Affairs, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, Kraft Foods Group, Inc.
Teresa M. Sebastian, Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary, Darden Restaurants
Gilda Spencer, Senior Vice President, Deputy General Counsel, The Allstate Corporation
Deirdre Stanley, Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Board Secretary, Thomson Reuters Corporation
Lewis A. Steverson, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, Corning Incorporated
Neal Suggs, Vice President and Associate General Counsel, Microsoft Corporation
Scott Taylor, Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary, Symantec Corporation
Deborah H. Telman, Vice President & General Counsel, Centers of Excellence-Americas, Johnson Controls, Inc.
Leslie T. Thornton, Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, WGL Holdings, Inc.
Michael K. Tucker, Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer, Avis Budget Group
Ernest A. Tuckett III, General Counsel, Americas, Akzo Nobel
Leslie M. Turner, Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary, The Hershey Company
Wanji J. Walcott, Senior Vice President & Managing Counsel, American Express Company
Chad E. Walker, General Counsel, Central Division, McDonald’s Corporation
Kevin Warren, Executive Vice President of Legal Affairs, Minnesota Vikings Football, LLC
Tony West, Executive Vice President, Government Affairs, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, Pepsico
Angela F. Williams, Executive Vice President, General Counsel, Chief Administration Officer, YMCA Of The USA
Keith H. Williamson, Executive Vice President, Corporate Secretary and General Counsel, Centene Corporation
Look for the new Savoy app available for iOS and Android devices March 27, 2015.
