American Arbitration Association’s Post

As we celebrate #NationalHispanicHeritageMonth, we spotlight Husch Blackwell's new HB Unidos Employee Resource Group Co-Chair Lazaro Aguiar. Lazaro joined the firm as an associate in St. Louis in 2021 and focuses his practice on product liability, mass tort, and consumer class actions. 🔈 What drew you to Husch Blackwell? - I felt nothing but appreciation from my interviewers who acknowledged my unique background and because they recognized my decision to better myself by transferring law schools. 🔈 What’s a new habit or practice you’re trying to cultivate? - Looking at problems as opportunities, not challenges. When problems arise, it’s easy to ask, “why is this happening TO me?” However, it takes strength to say, “this is happening FOR me.” Solving problems presents the opportunity to highlight my skills and/or learn new skills that I did not realize I had. 🔈 If you could learn one new personal skill, what would it be? - In the words of Ted Lasso, “be a goldfish.” Move on from mistakes rather than lingering on them. 🔈 In your own words, what are Husch Blackwell’s Employee Resource Groups and why are they important? - HB’s ERGs are groups of individuals who share a common goal of success and strength through unity. They are important because they create connections and a sense of belonging. 🔈 Why did you decide to join #HBUnidos as a leader? - Being a leader is about inspiring others and leading by example to reach a common goal. I wanted the challenges that come with being a leader. 🔈 What HB Unidos initiatives are you most looking forward to? - Having a Latinx HEAT (Helping Each-other AND Thriving) panel that consists of equity partners in the firm, along with various general counsels so our members and others can learn how to achieve success. 📸: Lazaro and his sister at her graduation.

Global powerhouse Latham & Watkins is known for its involvement in industry-leading matters, spearheaded by a worldwide network of diverse, exceptional talent. Recently, we spoke with several members of the firm's powerful network of Black partners to hear about how the firm has created the conditions for lawyers from traditionally underrepresented groups in the legal industry to thrive, from the creation of the firm's unique, strategy-setting Diversity Leadership Committee to an emphasis on belonging "as you are": https://lnkd.in/gR8_NhS3 #legalnews #lawfirms #lawyers

Our Women’s History Month series continues with a piece of advice shared by Ellen Yang. Ellen is President Elect for the ACC SoCal Chapter Board and Chief of Staff & Legal Counsel at Cruise. “Keep an open mind because you never know, and you might be pleasantly surprised.” – Best piece of advice I received in college #womenshistorymonth #womeninlaw #leadership #acc #accfamily #accsocal #accsocalleadership #inhousecounsel #corporatecounsel #businessadvice

Our Women’s History Month series continues with a life motto shared by Victoria Harvey. Victoria is Immediate Past President of the ACC SoCal Chapter and Senior Vice President & Chief Legal Officer at Smile Brands Inc. "May your ethics be set in stone and opinions in sand." – Motto to live by #womenshistorymonth #womeninlaw #leadership #acc #accfamily #accsocal #accsocalleadership #inhousecounsel #corporatecounsel #businessadvice

The latest issue of this Harvard Law School publication features LCLD’s Leaders at the Front initiative, its successes and challenges, Board Member Dev Stahlkopf’s personal experience crafting her Leader Pledge, and more. #DEI #diversity #equity #inclusion #leadership #LeadersAtTheFront

“The challenges of leading a law firm in the past six years have been extremely difficult, and we could not have asked for a better team than Robert and Adam to guide us.” ℹ https://lnkd.in/epShiu7h Congratulations to Chairman Robert Sartin and CEO Adam Hall, who will continue their leadership roles at FBT for a third term. #lawfirmleadership #lawfirmmanagement #lawfirmgrowth #legalnews

𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐍𝐀𝐋𝐏 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬. In this series we are taking a peek behind the curtain at the NALP Board of Directors. This talented group of legal career professionals from various backgrounds seek to serve their organizations with distinction. As NALP volunteer leaders they also want to inspire others to get involved with NALP and build meaningful and powerful professional networks of their own. In our first interview, we talk with Jessica Buchsbaum, NALP’s Vice-President for Member Services and Education and Chief Legal Talent Officer at Bilzin Sumberg LLP. 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐍𝐀𝐋𝐏? My first conference was Chicago in 2005, and I was so overwhelmed! I connected with some newer professionals in my region, and I had an experienced professional as a mentor who encouraged me to become involved in NALP. I started by writing articles and joining sections and then I was on the conference planning team for the Puerto Rico conference in 2010. 𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐫 𝐠𝐨𝐚𝐥𝐬? My professional mentor was Esther Rodriguez from Holland & Knight. She was always encouraging me to get involved as a way to gain knowledge and broaden my network to add value at my firm. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐨𝐫 𝐩𝐨𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬? Other than NALP Talk?!? I'm a big fan of Malcolm Gladwell's Revisionist History podcast – in particular, the episode "Project Dillard" examining the US News & World Report rankings and how their criteria impact HBCU rankings. It would be fascinating for our members and would be fun for them to hear the genesis of the idea to have the Dillard Choir perform at our DEI reception in New Orleans. 𝐈𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐪𝐮𝐨𝐭𝐞 𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤? If you're too big to do the small stuff, you're too small to do the big stuff. 𝐈𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐞 𝐨𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝, 𝐢𝐟 𝐬𝐨, 𝐰𝐡𝐲? Maintaining and broadening the pipeline of diverse attorneys into the profession. It's something I've been working on for over a decade through my involvement in bringing the NALP/Streetlaw Diversity Pipeline Program to Bilzin Sumberg and running the program for the past 12 years. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮? Building consensus, organizational altruism, and developing the next generation of leaders. #NALPLeaders #LegalProfessionals #NALP

The role of the Chief Legal Officer (CLO) has evolved in recent years as complex world, people, and business bring new challenges that we have never experienced before such as a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic that has halted the world; a global protest for Black lives and racial equity; and demand for better from our business leaders. How are leaders managing these crisis effectively and what does it mean to be an effective CLO in today’s world? What are the risks that CLOs must prepare for? Join us at MCCA’s annual Creating Pathways to Diversity® Conference as these leaders share their lessons learned and the evolution of the chief legal role. Timothy (Tim) Brown, Deneen Donnley, Jose Ramon Gonzalez, Cedric A. Powell, Grace Speights Learn more and register here: https://bit.ly/pathways-23 #InspiringProgress #AcceleratingImpact #KnowDoLeadTransform #MCCAPathways

With 20 years of experience as an attorney, Matthew Russell says he has learned a lot about what it takes to be an effective leader.

We are honored to have Frieda Garcia serving as our new managing partner. Her leadership, knowledge and experiences continue to empower BAL in our pursuit of the exceptional. Read more about Frieda in Law360: https://brnw.ch/21wCHGI #HispanicHeritageMonth #HHM #oneBAL #Law360