Aisc.ucla.edu

Board of Directors
Gary Brown–Chair
Michelle Rhee–Vice President
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MINORITY IN-HOUSE COUNSELS JOIN FORCES TO FORM A
SELF DIRECTED ASSOCIATION
Steven Tolliver–Secretary
Chicago, Illinois, January 30, 2013 – It is a little known fact -- there are thousands of minority attorneys practicing law inside many of the nation’s largest corporations and Martín Montes–Treasurer
governmental entities. Some of these attorneys have joined forces to form the Minority In-House Counsel Association (“MIHCA”) www.mymihca.org. MIHCA’s goal is to promote the professional development, career advancement and mentoring opportunities for minority in-house counsel. To achieve its goal, MIHCA focuses its considerable efforts on networking, sharing best practices, and recruiting lawyers of Earl Barnes
color to increase opportunities and diversity within the legal profession, especially in The concept of MIHCA began with a small group’s vision to create “an association ‘for Stephen Brown
us by us’ to educate, advise and assist each other” said Gary Brown, Board Chair and former Senior Counsel, BP America, Inc. Brown and the MIHCA Board enlisted the assistance of two law firms Henderson Adam, LLC and from The National Association of Minority and Women Owned Law Firm (NAMWOLF)--Gonzalez Saggio & Harlan John Childs
LLP. Brown said, “I hope MIHCA can be to in-house attorneys what NAMWOLF is to MIHCA will hold its first conference entitled, “Understanding the Business Aspects of Abim Kolawole
the Corporate Counsel Role” in Chicago, June 12-14, 2013, at the Palmer House Hilton. The purpose of the conference will be to introduce important business and legal skills necessary for success in today’s global and ever changing legal environment and to provide both knowledge and leadership skills regarding business principles and analysis. Business sessions will be presented in partnership with professors from Carlos Vasquez
Harvard Business School. Participation will primarily be limited to specific targeted Gregory Luna
111 E. Wisconsin Ave.
Suite 1000
Milwaukee, WI 53202
WWW.MYMIHCA.ORG
Board of Directors
Gary Brown–Chair
MIHCA (www.mymihca.org) was created to promote professional development, net- Michelle Rhee–Vice President
working, and career advancement of minority in-house counsel; to enable minority in-house counsel to recruit other lawyers of color, and to further increase diversity in the legal profession, especially in corporations. MIHCA provides a nationwide, grassroots diversity campaign by and for minority in-house counsel, without limitations or expec- Steven Tolliver–Secretary
tations from corporations, general counsel, or bar groups based on financial contribu- tions. MIHCA is committed to assisting in-house counsel and corporations with provid- ing financial support surrounding the challenges of diverse issues while eliminating Martín Montes–Treasurer
distracting obligations associated with accepting such financial support. Earl Barnes
The National Association of Minority & Women Owned Law Firms (NAMWOLF) is a nonprofit professional association comprised of minority and women-owned law firms and other interested parties throughout the United States. Many cor porations and pub- lic entities interested in diversifying their outside law firm ranks have focused almost Stephen Brown
exclusively on the utilization of minority and female attorneys at major ity firms. It is NAMWOLF’s view that the most effective way for corporations to increase diversity in the legal profession is to increase their retention of minority and women-owned law John Childs
Abim Kolawole
Carlos Vasquez
Gregory Luna
111 E. Wisconsin Ave.
Suite 1000
Milwaukee, WI 53202
WWW.MYMIHCA.ORG

Source: http://www.aisc.ucla.edu/news/c_n_resources/MIHCA%20Press%20Release.pdf