TCDIP’s mission is to help our Members attract, recruit, advance, and retain attorneys of color in the Twin Cities. In this post, we highlight the “advance and retain” part of our mission. We congratulate the 15 attorneys of color who recently received a noteworthy promotion into a leadership role! You can learn more about each attorney’s practice area, path to leadership, and advice they would like to share.
Brian Bell, Dorsey & Whitney LLP, Partner
Practice Areas: I practice in the areas of energy, environment, and natural resources law. I am particularly focused on representing electric generation and transmission cooperatives. I also focus on nonferrous mining in the upper Midwest.
Learn more about BrianClose
What’s one piece of advice you’d like to share with attorneys of color who are looking to rise in their careers?
One of the better pieces of advice I received from an attorney-of-color was to “focus on the work.” At any organization, there are politics. But if you focus on the work and don’t sweat the small stuff, things generally work out.
Elaine De Franco Olson, Cargill, Assistant Vice President, Chief Privacy Officer & Senior Counsel
Practice Areas: I currently serve as Cargill’s first ever Chief Privacy Officer. In that role, I have worldwide responsibility for Cargill’s global privacy program and have the joy of leading a talented, diverse group of privacy professionals. I also provide in-house legal services in the areas of privacy and cybersecurity. Outside of work, I serve as Vice-President of the Board of Directors of the International Institute of Minnesota, an economic empowerment and education agency working with new Americans.
Learn more about ElaineClose
What’s something that contributed to your promotion that you would like to share?
We are shaped so much by our life experiences and the values that drive us. My parents made enormous sacrifices to give my sisters and me an opportunity to get an education here in the US and to move here from Nicaragua. My father always taught us to live a life of service and to chase your dreams, not titles. My mother imparted in us a love for laughter and selfless giving. I would not be here without them and without the support of strangers who became friends, managers, and mentors. I am deeply grateful for my Latino heritage, which allows me to live and navigate multiple cultures and languages. I am so lucky to work for Cargill, a company that deeply embraces and values diversity.
What kind of challenges have you overcome in your path to this new role?
I am used to being the first Latina in a role, but I never want to be comfortable being the last. That means working hard to ensure that door stays open. In that regard, I have learned to use my voice more powerfully. Early on in my career, I did not appreciate the incredible power of being your truest self and being an authentic leader. I understood it at an intellectual level, but I had not fully internalized it. I have learned the importance of being present and practicing active empathy. We may never understand fully what it’s like to walk in someone else’s shoes, but we can support, grow, listen, and advocate. I have been so inspired by so many of my colleagues at Cargill to do better.
What’s one piece of advice you’d like to share with attorneys of color who are looking to rise in their careers?
Be an authentic leader and work to stay that way. Stay curious and have a thirst for learning. I will never have figured it “all” out. Above all, lead true to your values and put people first. I made a promise early on in my career that I would never turn down coffee (virtual these days!) with anyone who wanted help with their career or was looking with a new job. And, looking back, it’s one of the most rewarding things I have done in my career. Find your passion, whether it’s practicing a particular area of law, helping people solve complex problems, managing a team, counseling clients through change, or building something new.
Amran Farah, Greene Espel, Partner
Practice Areas: I represent and advise clients in an array of areas, including complex commercial litigation, construction litigation, employment law, and internal investigations. I also train and counsel clients on DEI issues, with a focus on the opportunities and risks of social media.
Learn more about AmranClose
What’s something that contributed to your promotion that you would like to share?
Taking chances and not letting my fears dictate my actions.
What’s one piece of advice you’d like to share with attorneys of color who are looking to rise in their careers?
Don’t be afraid to ask for opportunities, put yourself out there, and leave your job if you don’t feel appreciated.
What’s once piece of advice you would like to share with the TCDIP community about how legal employers can advance and retain more attorneys of color in the Twin Cities?
It isn’t enough to just hire attorneys of color, legal employers must provide them real mentorship, sponsorship, and continued support.
Christopher Fowlkes, Bowman and Brooke, Re-elected as Co-Chair Firm Diversity and Inclusion Committee and Minneapolis Paralegal Partner
Practice Areas: Chris Fowlkes is an accomplished attorney with a diverse product liability and commercial litigation practice. Chris is a partner with experience defending Global 500 companies within the automotive, medical device, chemical and consumer product industries. He defends his clients in high-profile cases ranging from complex product liability litigation and multi-party commercial litigation matters throughout the United States.
Learn more about ChristopherClose
What’s something that contributed to your promotion that you would like to share?
Chris was reelected by the partnership to serve as Co-Chair of the Firm’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee, as the firm will look to Chris to focus on the firm’s efforts toward Recruitment, Hiring, Advancing and Retention of lawyers firmwide. As Minneapolis Paralegal Partner, he will also be committed to and responsible for the recruiting, retention and engagement of paralegals in the Minneapolis office.
Mercedes Jackson, Shareholder, Fredrikson & Byron, P.A.
Practice Areas: I’m a corporate attorney, specializing in debt finance. I help my clients – companies and banks – negotiate and document financing arrangements of all types.
Learn more about MercedesClose
What’s something that contributed to your promotion that you would like to share?
People – including partners and our administrative team – who invested in me early and often was key to me continuing to develop and build a practice.
What kind of challenges have you overcome in your path to this new role
New to the Twin Cities market, I interviewed while heavily pregnant and started at the firm when my daughter was 4 months. Within two years my son arrived. Ramping up slowly, then ramping down and back up again was difficult, and I took my time to create the balance that I needed at work and at home. As such, it took me longer to build a practice than I had anticipated, and while my colleagues never wavered in their support, my internal drive to succeed was frustrated. By continuing to just do the best work on the projects that I had time to take, and not worrying about the things that I couldn’t be involved in, I found a path that worked for me.
What’s one piece of advice you’d like to share with attorneys of color who are looking to rise in their careers?
Just keep at and be true to yourself. There will be more opportunities to do good work than there is time to do it all. You have to actively work to shape your career and practice for you. If you take a backseat to managing your career, you will have the career and practice that other people thought you should have.
What’s once piece of advice you would like to share with the TCDIP community about how legal employers can advance and retain more attorneys of color in the Twin Cities?
You cannot assume that your attorneys are happy and content with what they have achieved so far, with the work that you’ve done to advance and retain them thus far. You have to ask the hard questions, and when people are willing to give you their hard truths, you have to listen and take it to heart without being defensive or dismissive. If attorneys of color are willing to talk with you about any difficulties they are experiencing, you should assume that they left 90% of the challenges unsaid. If you wait too long to have these discussions, you may be forced to have them at an exit interview.
Nicole James Gilchrist, Thrivent, Vice President, Managing Counsel
Practice Areas: I lead the legal team for our Commercial Division, which includes lawyers and paralegals who advise and support Thrivent’s distribution channels (broker dealer and investment advisers serving retail investors), Thrivent issued insurance and annuity products, and the operations team for these two areas. My background has primarily been in advising and counseling registered broker dealer and investment adviser firms on the development and offering financial planning, managed accounts and brokerage services to retail clients, recruiting, sales practice, and compensation, and other distribution-related matters. This includes representing and advising these registered entities in their dealings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, and state securities regulators.
Learn more about NicoleClose
What’s something that contributed to your promotion that you would like to share?
Central to what contributed to my promotion is consistency. I consistently demonstrated strong business acumen, collaboration skills and leadership.
What kind of challenges have you overcome in your path to this new role?
There are all kinds of challenges we face and will continue to face professionally and personally as we seek to make a difference and realize our own potential. One challenge that I had to overcome in my journey is maintaining self-confidence. Understanding the subtle differences in being courageous and being confident was important for me and my development as a leader. Having the fortitude to persevere through challenging situations did not always mean that I was confident in my own ability. I focused on building confidence as part of my core being. It is who I am without reservation.
What’s one piece of advice you’d like to share with attorneys of color who are looking to rise in their careers?
One piece of advice that I received that I would like to share with other attorneys of color is that what got you to this point may not advance you further. Reflect on what is in the way of you becoming the person you want to be. We need to prepare ourselves – through skill sets, capabilities and expertise – to show up and be counted on when it matters.
What’s once piece of advice you would like to share with the TCDIP community about how legal employers can advance and retain more attorneys of color in the Twin Cities?
I have been blessed to have many people throughout my life who encourage, coach, correct, mentor and support me. It is vitally important for legal employers to invest time, energy and resources into developing and maintaining meaningful professional relationships with attorneys of color. In addition to committed mentorship and sponsorship programs, legal employers can either develop or provide access to leadership programs designed to enhance leadership and management skills and capabilities. This purposeful investment provides a framework for mutual accountability among attorneys of color and legal employers for the future.
Grace Kim, Fish & Richardson, Principal
Practice Areas: I am a patent attorney. My practice is focused on patent prosecution, patent post-grant proceedings, client counseling and strategic portfolio development, clearance investigations, patentability analysis and due diligence investigations.
Adine Momoh,
Stinson LLP, Partner, Co-Chair of Estates and Trusts Litigation Practice Group
Practice Areas: Estates and Trusts Litigation, Banking and Securities Litigation, Bankruptcy and Creditors’ Rights
Sawan Patel, Larkin Hoffman, Shareholder
Practice areas: I help businesses grow by protecting their interests, promoting and selling their products and services, and franchising their brands. The primary focus of my practice is franchising. I help clients franchise their business, and work with many of the largest franchised brands in the country.
Learn more about SawanClose
What kind of challenges have you overcome in your path to this new role?
Regardless of your background, focus on gaining the most experience you can, especially in specific areas of practice that interest you. Nothing can replace experience in a particular practice area, and gaining substantive knowledge and building your personal brand name in this practice will take your career to the next level.
What’s one piece of advice you’d like to share with attorneys of color who are looking to rise in their careers?
Legal employers are starting to understand that clients are diverse, and this requires equally diverse attorneys who can bring a variety of experience and thoughts. To attract, retain, and advance more attorneys of color or other diverse backgrounds, legal employers need to accept different thought processes.
Roshan Rajkumar, Bowman and Brooke, Re-elected as Minneapolis Co-Managing Partner and Co-Chair Firm Diversity and Inclusion Committee
Michael Sawers, Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath, Partner
Practice Areas: My practice focuses on white collar and internal investigations, as well as trade secret and agricultural cases. Each area of my practice enables me to learn a client’s business and figure out how to help their business succeed.
Learn more about MichaelClose
What’s something that contributed to your promotion that you would like to share?
It’s not “what” has contributed to my promotion but, rather, “who” contributed to my promotion. There are countless mentors–both formal and informal–who made my promotion a reality. From the judges I worked with during my clerkship and senior lawyers at my former firm, to my mentors at Faegre, I am the fortunate beneficiary of invaluable guidance and support along the way.
What’s one piece of advice you’d like to share with attorneys of color who are looking to rise in their careers?
Master your craft. Become the best lawyer you can and learn how to be the best advocate possible. After that, find mentors and advisors to give you the help you need (and everyone needs it). You will stumble along the way but lean on your mentors and advisors, stay the course, and you will succeed.
Anupama Sreekanth, Fredrikson & Byron, P.A., Shareholder
Practice Areas: I am a business litigator, with a focus on representing clients in the health care industry.
Learn more about AnupamaClose
What kind of challenges have you overcome in your path to this new role?
For me, the biggest challenge has been believing that I have what it takes to be successful as a law firm partner. I don’t have any lawyers in my family, and for many years, being a “partner” felt like an insurmountable and, frankly, unrealistic goal. Over time, and due in significant part to the strong and continued support and encouragement of my close mentors and colleagues, I began to see a future that was not only attainable, but also something that I actually wanted for myself. Now, I look forward to the challenges (and rewards) that come with shaping my own practice.
Nicole Strydom, Dorsey & Whitney LLP, Partner
Practice Areas: Capital Markets and Corporate Compliance
Kevin Ueland, 3M, Assistant General Counsel – Global Director of Investigations
Practice Areas: I manage the internal investigations team for 3M Ethics & Compliance, which has global responsibility for all matters reported through the Ethics hotline regarding violations of the 3M Code of Conduct and 3M’s business conduct policies. The team also has responsibility for matters involving the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and other anticorruption laws. The Ethics & Compliance team collaborates with and provides direction and guidance to other investigative functions within the corporation.
Learn more about KevinClose
What’s something that contributed to your promotion that you would like to share?
There are many things that contributed, but these three stand out:1. I find the work very interesting. There is great variety, it is global in nature, and very challenging! The work provides me with the opportunity to collaborate with other functions and to engage with our senior leadership team regularly. 2. I have great support from my leaders. Michael Duran, who is our Vice President and Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer, was very supportive, as was his predecessor, Veena Lakkundi. Our Senior Vice President and General Counsel, Ivan Fong, was also very supportive and took time to work with me personally on my professional development. 3. I have a great team that is very smart and works hard. We all love and believe in the importance of the work that we do and that makes it fun.
What kind of challenges have you overcome in your path to this new role?
I first came into my role on an interim basis and there were several high-profile matters that needed to be addressed all at once. All the while I was continuing to wrap up my work for the Litigation group and learning how to manage a global team. It was a lot to try to balance initially.
What’s one piece of advice you’d like to share with attorneys of color who are looking to rise in their careers?
Make connections! Your current colleagues or classmates can help you find a path to a great job down the line. Be willing to take risks and try different things. I never thought I would be in-house doing what I am doing now. Throughout my career I have been willing to take on new challenges and new roles and have found it to be rewarding.
What’s once piece of advice you would like to share with the TCDIP community about how legal employers can advance and retain more attorneys of color in the Twin Cities?
Invest in your people. Demonstrate through your actions that there are real opportunities to grow your career in the organization and to take on interesting and challenging work. Be committed to their growth and development and they will be more committed to staying.
Davida Williams, Greene Espel, Partner
Practice Areas: As an antitrust lawyer, I defend clients against government enforcement actions, investigations of anticompetitive conduct, and private class action lawsuits. I also represent clients in a variety of white collar, employment, and business litigation matters.
Learn more about DavidaClose
What’s something that contributed to your promotion that you would like to share?
The attorneys at Greene Espel have been incredibly supportive of my growth as an attorney. I appreciate their mentorship and commitment to seeing me succeed.
What’s one piece of advice you’d like to share with attorneys of color who are looking to rise in their careers?
To other attorneys of color, I say this: You are not an imposter. You are just as qualified as your peers. And you belong at the table. Don’t let anyone (including yourself) tell you otherwise.
