News Article

Womble Carlyle Sponsors LCA Diversity Summit on Nov. 12th

November 10, 2009

  • Print
About Site Tools
Jack Williams, Brent Clinkscale and Guanming Fang to Speak

ATLANTA—Diversity is deeply imbedded in Womble Carlyle’s corporate culture. That is why the firm is proud to be the exclusive premier sponsor of the Litigation Counsel of America Diversity Summit on November 12, 2009 at the Four Seasons Hotel in Atlanta. 

The Litigation Counsel of America is an invitation-only trial lawyer honorary society established to reflect the diversity of America’s most accomplished litigation and trial lawyers and of the American bar.  The LCA Diversity Summit is designed to bring together LCA Fellows, law firm diversity team members and corporate representatives to discuss issues of diversity in the corporate and legal worlds.

“It is with great pride that Womble Carlyle will serve as the exclusive, premier sponsor of LCA’s first Diversity Summit,” said Jack Williams, a trial lawyer in Womble Carlyle’s Atlanta office and the incoming 2010 LCA President.  “It is consistent with the firm’s history of not only working to achieve diversity within our own ranks, but also supporting efforts and initiatives beyond Womble Carlyle to further diversity.”

“Given Womble Carlyle’s emphasis on diversity initiatives, we are pleased to support the LCA’s Diversity Summit and look forward to actively participating in this event,” said attorney Brent Clinkscale, leader of Womble Carlyle’s Diversity Committee.
 
Jack Williams will serve as Moderator for the Summit. Brent Clinkscale and Guanming Fang, corporate lawyer and leader of the firm’s China practice, will be speakers.
 
Recently, Womble Carlyle was honored with a national award for its diversity practices from DRI (formerly the Defense Research Institute), the Voice of the Defense Bar. Womble Carlyle’s diversity program includes: 
  • The Womble Carlyle Scholars Program. Every year, the firm awards 11 scholarships to high-achieving minority law students. The scholarship includes $8,000 to defray tuition and other expenses, plus recipients have the chance to work as summer associates at the firm. Several former Womble Carlyle Scholars now are attorneys at the firm.
  • The CLEO-Womble Carlyle Road to Law School Academy. This program is held in conjunction with the Council of Legal Education Opportunity (CLEO). Each year, approximately 25 minority college juniors are selected for a rigorous academic program that prepares them to succeed in law school and a legal career.
  • Support for the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, which provides merit-based scholarships and support to the nation’s 47 historically black colleges and universities.
Womble Carlyle has a history of involvement with the LCA. In addition to Williams, several other Womble Carlyle attorneys are also LCA members including Brent Clinkscale and John Parker Sweeney. Jon Fligg will be inducted in October.
 
“Since the firm and the Atlanta office are dedicated to ongoing diversity efforts, we are honored to be the premiere sponsor of the LCA Diversity Summit,” said Clint Richardson, Managing Member of the firm’s Atlanta Office. “We also are delighted that one of our members, Jack Williams, will serve as the LCA’s president next year.”
 

A full-service business law firm, Womble Carlyle ranks among AmLaw's 100 leading firms in the country and is a top law firm for companies doing business in the Southeast and mid-Atlantic states. The firm is a recipient of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund Corporate Leadership Award, making Womble Carlyle the first law firm ever to receive the highest honor given to a business organization in recognition of its support of the Fund and its 45 member educational institutions.

Founded in 1876, Womble Carlyle operates in six states and the District of Columbia with nearly 550 attorneys in eleven offices located in Atlanta, GA; Greenville, SC; Charlotte, Greensboro, Raleigh, Research Triangle Park, and Winston-Salem, NC; Washington, DC; Tysons Corner, VA; Wilmington, DE; and Baltimore, MD. Womble Carlyle is located in the Southeast and mid-Atlantic regions, and serves clients nationally and globally.