Broadening the reach and impact of in-house counsel

ACC has a longstanding commitment to and leadership in promoting and working with members to increase the diversity of our profession. We help members find diversity initiatives that create meaningful opportunities for departments to improve their own diversity, and offers resources to help them better advise their companies on diversity-related initiatives. Much of what we do is also focused helping in-house counsel leverage diversity in their law firm and supplier networks, as well.

Street Law, Inc.

High school students in multi-racial communities don’t necessarily have opportunities to learn about the legal profession, connect with lawyers, or develop a positive impression of the legal system, so it’s no surprise they don’t aspire to be lawyers. And yet we want a more diverse profession.

ACC developed a pipeline program with Street Law that targets diverse high school students and offers them positive contact with corporate lawyers and insight into the challenging and engaging work that they do. Lawyers teach corporate law classes in the school, and students attend programming or activities at corporate headquarters or other venues sponsored by the companies behind the lawyers. Many students go on to complete internships or other extensions of the program that keep the mentoring relationships they built in the classroom alive, and lead to consideration of a career in law.

Read about DuPont's work with Street Law at the Howard High School of Technology in an article in The Metropolitan Corporate Counsel.

MCCA and ACC

The Minority Corporate Counsel Association and ACC have a long history together - since MCCA was founded, we’ve shared many leaders in common, and even staff that has worked at both ACC and MCCA. MCCA is our partner in general diversity outreach - they do nothing but the best work in diversity thought leadership, education, and promotion. 

Find out more about MCCA events, resources, networks and projects (including those we co-work, serving Women CLOs and CLOs of Color in the Fortune 500) by contacting MCCA's Vice President of External Relations, Jennifer Chen.

Recognition/Awards:

2008 Matthew J. Whitehead, II Diversity Award Recipients: Dennis Broderick and the Legal Department Of Macy’s, Inc., Announced During Association of Corporate Counsel’s 2008 Annual Meeting in Seattle

Get more resources and information on diversity

• Read ACC’s Leading Practices Profile on diversity
  
  
• Download the ACC CLO ThinkTank briefing and executive summary on diversity practices
  
  
• Need more info or want to talk to ACC staff on diversity issues? Click here