this is an advertisement. diversity matters - baker donelson a diversity effort and understand its...

1

Diversity Matters Spring 2008

Diversity Matters Valuing Race and Gender The Diversity Newsletter of Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC

Fall 2008

OneoftheFirm’sstrategicpillarsisShared Beliefs,whichisexhibitedthroughourcommitmenttodiversityandinclusion.

To ensure that all staff and attorneys are

provided with information and training

that will help them further this shared

belief,beginninginDecember2008,Baker

Donelson will roll out a comprehensive

inclusion training program designed by a

diversityconsultant.

“ThestrengthofourFirmisourstaffandourattorneys,”

saysMark Baugh, Chair of the Firm’s Diversity Committee.

“This customized inclusion training is one way of ensuring

thatwecontinuetoeffectivelyaddressourclients’needs.”

Twenty-oneBaker attorneys from all offices volunteered

to be the Firm’s instructors for the program. They have

completed24hoursof“trainthetrainer”sessionstobecome

certified,andinthecomingmonthswillinturnleadtraining

sessionsforallstaffandotherattorneys.Thistrainingwillnot

onlybenefittheFirminadvancingourdiversityinitiatives,but

willalsobenefitourclientsandourcommunities.

Baker Introduces Comprehensive Inclusion Training

AnumberofBakerDonelsonclientshaveinitiatedprograms

similartoourWomen’sInitiative. Jackson,Mississippi-based

client Horne LLP shares a geographic footprint with Baker

Donelson, as well as a sincere interest in creating a work

environment that promotes the success and retention of its

professionalwomen. Toward that end, the accounting and

businessadvisoryconsultingcompanyofficially launchedits

ownWomen’s Initiative program

inFebruaryofthisyear.

Not surprisingly, this Top

10 Southeastern accounting

firm (which is also ranked 45th

nationally)feelsitisimportantto

haveadata-driven initiative.Oneof the first things theydid

was to roll out an internal survey from RSMMcGladrey (a

networkofwhichtheyareamember),whichcoveredgeneral

issues of employee satisfaction. They are using some of the

datagatheredinthatprocesstohelpdevelopandinformtheir

prioritieswiththeirWomen’sInitiative.

“Itallboilsdowntothebusinesscaseforaprogramlike

this,” says Angela Beasley Phyfer, a tax partner with Horne

whoservedontheAmericanInstituteofCPA’snationalWork/

LifeBalancecommitteeforthreeyears.

“Our profession tends to lose women at the middle

management and supervisory career stage – that timewhen

womentendtohavefamilies–andwehavetoaddressthat.”

Many of the issues that sometimes get pigeonholed as

“women’s” issuesactuallycanbetermedmoreappropriately

as“family”issues,Phyfernotes,andHornehasrecentlyhired

aWork/Life Coordinator to helpmanage what Horne calls

“careerbalancearrangements.”

“The firm bends over

backwards to accommodate

our professionals,” Phyfer

notes. “Any good performer is

eligible to submit a request for

accommodations.”

Many workers are already telecommuting or working

compressedworkweeks.

ProgramsintheplanningstagesforthefledglingWomen’s

Initiativeincludeawomen’smentoringprogram(whichwill

be open to all female employees and shouldbe inplace by

year-end) and internal and external networking events that

could involve Horne alone or may involve partnering with

othercompanies– likeBakerDonelson– toofferexpanded

networkingopportunities.

Horne LLP Working to Retain and Advance Women by Laura Ellis

This is an advertisement.

Diversity Matters Fall 2008

2

The fact is thatdiversity isno longer just theright thing todo. It’sanessential

factortocompeteintoday’sbusinessclimate.Soitshouldbenosurprisethatcorporate

clientsexpecttheiroutsidecounseltosharediversityasacorevalue.What’sclearis

thatBigBusinessincreasinglyunderstandsthatafocusondiversityismorethanjusta

feel-goodeffort.Well-manageddiversitycanbeasourceofsatisfactionforemployers

andemployeesofallbackgrounds,races,creeds,genders,sexualorientationandlevels

ofphysicalabilities.Whendiversityispoorlymanaged,however,itcanbesourceof

frustration, anger, fear about personal security and concerns for one’s future.Many

studiesrevealthatcorporateculturesareenhancedbydiversity:corporatebottomlines

areimproved,andshareholders’pocketsareenrichedbydiversity.

Achieving Diversity Achieving diversity does nothing for an organization unless that diversity

is managed effectively. It is not a natural thing for people of different cultural

backgrounds, religious or moral upbringings, cognitive styles or even genders to

communicateeffectively,appreciatewhatshapeseachothers’viewpoints,debatewith

eachotherwithoutgivingoffense,orotherwisegetalong together.Whenamanager

says“thisdiversitythingwouldbeeasyifonlyeveryonereactedandbehavedthesame

way,”or“ImustbetotallyconsistentinwhatIdo;surelyIshould

beexpectedtotreateveryonethesame,”thenheorsheisreflecting

the real challenge ofmanaging diversity. Equality in the context

ofmanagingdiversitymeanstreatingeachperson’sneedswithan

equalamountofrespectandattention.

Implementing Diversity WilliamBrooks,formervice-presidentofcorporaterelations

atGeneralMotorsCorporation,saystheyfollowedasystematiccourse,mappingout

the company’s specificneeds and then striving to reach them throughmanagement

practices. “It’s a five-phaseprocess: one, identify thebusiness rationale for engaging

in a diversity effort and understand its principles; two, analyze the culture; three,

understandthebarriersandwhereyouwanttobe,anddevelopactionplanstoremove

thebarriers; four, implement actionplans to address thebarriers; and five, evaluate

progressandcontinuousimprovement.Intheshorttimethatwe’veinitiatedphaseone,

we’reshockedattheresults.It’sdoingexactlywhatwewantedittodo.Wecanseereal

progress.”

Other companies such as Chase Manhattan, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of

MassachusettsandPolaroidCorp.,concernedwithmaximizing thepotentialof their

alreadydiverseworkforce,investedinemployeeorganizationsthatmonitorcorporate

diversitypoliciesandworkwithcommunitygroups.NestleBeverageCo.conducteda

researchstudytohelpthemdesigntheirdiversityprogram,whichincludedinterviewing

28 employees chosen for their variety in age, ethnic background and equal gender

This spring the Firm established

the Baker Donelson Diversity

Scholarship Program, which will

award up to three scholarships

annually to diverse law school

students who have completed

theirfirstyearoflawschool.We

willawardeachrecipientasalaried

second year summer associate

position in one of the Firm’s

offices, and, after the completion

ofthesummerassociateposition,

a$10,000scholarshipduringthe

students’thirdyearoflawschool.

The first recipients of the

scholarshipandsummerassociate

opportunity are Shazi Jiang

(Vanderbilt School of Law) and

Staci Pierce (Cumberland School

ofLaw).

Wearecommittedtoensuringthat

bothourFirmandourprofession

are represented by attorneys

with a diversity of backgrounds.

Enhancing opportunities for

diverse law school students

is crucial to fulfilling that

commitment. This program not

onlyhelpsdiversestudentsdefray

the cost of law school, but also

offers them the opportunity to

acquirevaluableexperienceinthe

legal profession through a paid

summerassociateposition.

Diversity Scholarship Program Off to a Great Start

The Cost of Diversityby Pamela Carter

continued next page

$


3

representation.TheresearchhelpedNestle focus theireffort

onareasthatwouldmostbenefitthecompanyfinancially.

The “Bottom Line” Any organization – public or private sector – has to be

concernedwith“thebottomline,”althoughthedefinitionof

thatmayvary fromonetoanother.Thebenefitsofdiversity

must beweighed. Much of the attractiveness ofworkplace

diversitycomesfromtheimpactonthe“top-line”–increased

profitsthroughbettercustomerservice,openingnewmarkets

andsoon.Ofthestudiesdoneontheimpactofthebottom

line, one reports that “the favorable market reaction may

be a response to theprobability that such firmshavebetter

reputations with their diverse customers or more creative

cultures; or they may be better problem solvers or more

adaptabletoexternalenvironmentalchanges.”Resultsshow

thatcompanieswhohavebeenrecognizedfortheirdiversity

efforts(suchasWal-Mart,Pfizer,Glaxo,Motorola,Xeroxand

GeneralMills)experiencean increase in investmentreturns,

supportingtheconjecturethatbeingseenasa“goodcorporate

citizen”isalsoprofitable.

Leading By Example Diversitymustbebothachievedandmanagedeffectively

if its benefits are to be achieved. This requires leadership

commitment; the establishment of priorities and realistic

objectives; the assessment and development of policies

and practices to meet the particular diversity needs of

the organization, including accommodation needs; and the

provisionofmanagementandemployeetrainingandsupport

processes.

A diverse firm can only beginwith individualswho are

willingtoexaminetheirpersonalbeliefsandadoptchangesto

overcomevalue-baseddecisionsfoundedonlimitedexposure

towomenandminoritiesinfirmleadershiproles.Thechange

processrequiresustoworkwithineachcomponentofthefirm

todevelopacoordinatedandthoroughefforttoeffectchange.

It requires proactive advocacy, collaboration, and linkages

withgoalsandobjectivessupportedbyallstakeholders.The

resultwillbeanaturallydiverse firminwhich lawyers from

allbackgroundshaveaccess toopportunities, and thevalue

oftheirinclusionwillberealizedinfirmrevenuesandoverall

culture.

The Cost of Diversity, continued

BakerDonelson’sfallclassof25newassociatesincludes12womenandtwominorityassociates.ThisbringstheFirm’stotals

to178(or32%ofattorneysFirmwide)and38(or7%),respectively.BakerDonelsonremainscommittedtorecruiting,hiring,

training,retainingandinvitingtoShareholderstatusattorneysfromunder-representedgroups,andtheRecruitingCommittee

continuestoworkwithattorneysinourDiversityCommitteeandthroughouttheFirmtoexplorenewwaysofwideningour

fieldofcandidates.Onesuchwayisourminorityundergraduateoutreachprogram,whichisinitsbeginningstages.Lookfor

moreinformationaboutthisinitiativeinournextnewsletter.

New Associates Increase Women, Diversity Numbers

Whitney S. Bailey

Kimberly M. Bawgus

Shameak B. Belvitt

Not pictured:Paige J. Casey

Claire Cowart Haltom

Kristin C. Dunavant

Melissa J. Egan Mary Margaret Gossett

Cherie N. Knotts

Stacey C. MacKinnon

Jesse Mitchell III Jessica Hodge Shafer

Melissa W. Wibbens


4

BakerDonelsonispleasedtoannouncetheadditionofseveralexperiencedattorneys

totheFirm’sattorneyrosterduringthepastfewmonths.

Julie Chinn is of counsel in the Memphis office in the bankruptcy

group, concentrating on creditors’ rights and commercial litigation.

Her experience includes representing major finance companies and

banksinbankruptcycourtproceedings.Ms.Chinnpreviouslyservedas

AssistantU.S.TrusteefortheWesternDistrictofTennessee.

Laurie D. Clark is of counsel in theNewOrleans office in business

litigation,withanemphasisonemploymentandtransportationmatters.

Ms.Clarkhasexperiencerepresentingclientsingenerallitigationattrial

andappellatelevelsinstateandfederalcourt.

Floyd D. GainesisashareholderintheBirminghamoffice,concentrating

on class actions, product liability, employment law, education law,

insurancelawandgenerallitigation.HehasservedasaDeputyAttorney

General for the State of Alabama and has litigated cases in virtually

every county in Alabama and in each of the three Alabama Federal

DistrictCourts,aswellaslitigatedcasesintheGeorgiaandMississippi

state courts and participated in numerous oral arguments before the

EleventhCircuitCourtofAppeals.

Katie Dysart is an associate in the Firm’s New Orleans office with

extensiveexperienceininsurancecoverageandinsurancedefense.She

has represented and handled all aspects of lawsuits for insurers and

served as local counsel for out-of-state firms in relation toHurricane

KatrinaandRitaclaims,aswellasotherfirst-partypropertymatters.

Bruce A. McMullen is a shareholder in the Memphis office with

experience in the areas of insurance coverage and bad faith actions,

medical malpractice defense, products liability defense, municipal law and class

actiondefense.Hehastriedmorethan20jurytrialsinstateandfederalcourtsin

Individual Baker Donelson

officeshavebeeninvolvedwiththe

SusanG.KomenRacefortheCure

forsometimenow,butinthepast

two years theWomen’s Initiative

hasspearheadedacohesiveeffort

to take that involvement to the

next level. One of the primary

reasonswastohonorthememory

of the Firm’s Recruiting Director

SuePorter,wholostahard-fought

battlewithbreastcancer in2007.

Toward that end, the Firm now

encouragesallofficeswherethere

are races to field a team and

involve clients where appropri-

ate. Among the big success sto-

ries is theMemphis office,where

Baker Donelson attorneys staged

apancakebreakfasttoraiseaware-

ness (andmoney) for theKomen

cause. Now in its10thyear, this

year’s breakfast was bigger and

better thanever. InBirmingham,

Baker’s local coordinators recruit-

edmorethan90teamparticipants

who raisedmore than$8,000 for

“TeamCure-inacci,”sonamedfor

theoffice’smanagingshareholder,

Tim Lupinacci. Nashville partici-

pants raised more than $2,600

for theirCounselors for theCure

team.Teamswillalsohittheroad

thisfallinChattanooga,Knoxville,

NewOrleansandJohnsonCity.

Julie Chinn

Baker Donelson and the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure

To Find the Cure...We Serve.

TheBatonRougeofficeofBakerDonelsonwilltakeitsWomen’sInitiativeeffort

to the next level when it relocates to a new building early next year. The office

plans todebut a newWomen’sResourceCenter dedicated to thepromotion and

advancementofwomen.TheCenterwillhousepublicationsandstatisticsfocused

onwomen’sgrowthanddevelopmentinthebusinessandlegalcommunities,aswell

asshowcasingaccomplishmentsofsuccessfulwomenleaders.Inconjunctionwith

the opening of the newoffice, the Firmwill host an openhouse andnetworking

socialtospotlightthenewWomen’sResourceCenterasanimportantfoundationto

furthertheFirm’seffortsintheadvancementofwomen.

New Baton Rouge Office to Feature Women’s Resource Center

Welcoming New Attorneys

Laurie D. Clark

Floyd D. Gaines

Katie Dysart

Bruce A. McMullen

continued next page


5

TennesseeandArkansasandhasauthoredandarguedappeal

briefstotheTennesseeCourtofAppeals.

Hannah MetzgerisanassociateintheNashville

officeandamemberof theHealthLawGroup.

She has served as Senior Commentary Editor

for Transactions: Tennessee Journal of Business Law and was a coordinator for the University

of Tennessee Pro Bono Health Care Advocacy

Project.

Megan OuztsisanassociateintheAtlantaoffice

with experience representing clients in a wide

rangeofemploymentlawmatters.Shecounsels

companies on employment law compliance

and litigation avoidance, including drafting

and implementing employment policies and

procedures, designing release agreements and

providingon-siteEEOtraining.

Lori Patterson is of counsel in the Memphis

officewithextensiveexperienceincomplexlitigation,appellate

work, securities litigation, civil and criminal defense, civil

rightsandgovernmentalentitydefense.

Catherine Thigpen is an associate in the Firm’s NewOrleans

officewith experience in insurance coverage and litigation. She

hascounseledunderwritersandinsurancecompaniesoncoverage

issuesarisingoutofawiderangeofclaims includingLouisiana

legacylawsuits,health-hazardandothercomplexenvironmental

matters, as well as issues involving insured and

additionalinsuredstatusandgeneralclaimshandling

issuesunderthird-partyandfirst-partypolicies.

Elisabeth QuinnisofcounselintheBatonRouge

officedefendingnationalcompaniesinpremiseand

products liability, toxic tort, occupational disease

andclassactionclaims.Shehasextensiveexperience

defending national, regional and local banking

institutionsincommerciallitigationmatters.

Stacie S. Winkler is anassociate in theMemphis

office,withbroadexperienceinanumberoflitigation

matters including class action defense, bad faith

litigation, medical malpractice defense, personal

injurylitigation,insurancelaw,estateplanningand

probate law, products liability andmunicipal law.

Ms.Winklerhassignificantjurytrialexperienceand

representsclientsatallstagesof litigationincases

filedinbothfederalandstatecourtsinTennesseeandArkansas.

Welcoming New Attorneys, continued

Hannah Metzger

Megan Ouzts

Lori Patterson

Catherine Thigpen

Elisabeth Quinn

AnumberofwomenandminorityattorneysfromBakerDonelsonwererecentlyselected

forinclusioninThe Best Lawyers in America®2009(copyright2008byWoodward/White,Inc.

ofAiken,SC),awell-respectedattorneylistingthatiswidelyregardedasadefinitiveguideto

legalexcellence.BecauseBestLawyersisbasedonanexhaustivepeer-reviewsurveyinwhich

morethan25,000leadingattorneyscastalmosttwomillionvotesonthelegalabilitiesofother

lawyersintheirspecialties,andbecauselawyersarenotrequiredorallowedtopayafeetobe

listed,inclusioninBestLawyersisconsideredasingularhonor.

Of the 156 Baker Donelson attorneys selected for inclusion, 35 female and minority

attorneyswerechosen:AllisaJ.Allison;BettyAnderson;LaurenW.Anderson,MaryL.Aronov,

L.MabelArroyo,GerardoR.Barrios,LindaM.Crouch-McCreadie,NancyScottDegan,Barry

W.Ford,DonnaD.Fraiche,DesireeM.Franklin,TonyaM.Grindon,FrankS. James,Valerie

WalshJohnson,JenniferP.Keller,DeniseW.Killebrew,LindaM.Klein,AmeliaWilliamsKoch,

VirginiaC.Love,AnneB.Mathes,BruceA.McMullen,AnneW.Mitchell,MaryLeAnnMynatt,

CarlaPeacher-Ryan,JackieG.Prester,SusanElliottRich,ClarenceRisin,FernH.Singer,Louann

P.Smith,JillM.Steinberg,KelliL.Thompson,DanielleL.Trostorff,SusanS.Wagner,JonellB.

WilliamsonandAnneDerbesWittmann.

Baker Donelson Attorneys Selected for Best Lawyers Honor

Best Lawyers

in America®

Stacie Winkler


6

Pamela Carter(New

Orleans)hasbeen

appointedChairof

theDefenseResearch

Institute’s(DRI)

PublicationsCommittee.

Priortoherappoint-

ment,shehasbeenamemberofDRI’s

DiversityCommitteeandDiversity

SeminarSteeringCommitteeandhas

servedasChairandCommitteemem-

berofDRI’sannualDiversitySeminar

programssinceinceptionin2006.

Nancy Scott Degan

(NewOrleans)hasbeen

appointedManaging

DirectoroftheAmerican

BarAssociationSection

ofLitigation.With

approximately75,000

membersnationallyandinternation-

ally,theSectionofLitigationisthe

largestsectionoftheAmericanBar

Association.

Inaddition,Nancywillbehonored

byNewOrleansCitiBusinessasoneof

itsWomen of the Yearatitsannualrec-ognitioneventinNovember.

Sheri A. Fox

(Chattanooga)and

Yanika C. Smith-

Bartley (Nashville)com-

pletedtheTennessee

BarAssociation’s

LeadershipLawpro-

gramattheTennessee

BarAssociation’s

annualconventionin

Gatlinburg.

Donna Fraiche(New

Orleans)washonoredatanofficial

receptioninNew

Orleanshostedby

theConsularOffice

ofJapan.Shewas

appointedashonor-

aryconsulgeneralof

JapanonApril1bythe

JapanMinistryofForeignAffairs“to

preserveandfurtherstrengthenthe

goodrelationshipbetweenJapanand

Louisiana.”Inaddition,sheopenedthe

JapanFesteventattheNewOrleans

MuseumofArtonOctober18.

Ms.Fraichehasalsoacceptedinvi-

tationstoserveontheboardsofThe

ProBonoProject,LouisianaBluePrint

andLouisianaAppleseed.

TheAlabamaAssociationof

Paralegals,Inc.electedAngelle

Garcia(Birmingham)toserveasthe

RegionIDirectorforthe2008-2009

term.Inaddition,Kimberly Herrin

(Birmingham)wasappointedtoserve

astheCLACoordinator,andLynn

Evans(Birmingham)wasappointedto

serveastheHistorian.

Charles K. Grant(Nashville)was

includedintheNashville Business JournalBestoftheBar2008list-

ing.Recipientswere

selectedbasedonnum-

berofvotesfromother

Nashvilleattorneysand

werehonoredAugust21atarecep-

tion,inadditiontobeingprofiledin

anAugust22Nashville Business Journalspecialsection.

Jennifer G. Hall

(Jackson)hasbeen

selectedforthe2008-09Classof

LeadershipGreaterJacksonprogram.

Frank S. James

(Birmingham)was

electedtotheBoardof

DirectorsoftheBoard

ofPensionsofthe

PresbyterianChurch.

Linda A. Klein(Atlanta)

servedaschairofthe

ABACommitteeon

Rules&Calendar,

whichcreatesthe

agendaandmanages

thedebateofresolution

beforetheABAHouseofDelegates.

Shealsointroducedaprogramon

DomesticViolenceissuesandserved

aschairoftheCoalitionforJustice.

Emily Landry

(Memphis)hasbeen

appointedChairofthe

DRIYLC’sLegislative

LiaisonSubcommittee.

Inaddition,sherecently

graduatedfromthe

LeadershipAcademyFellowsprogram.

This12-monthprogramprovidesinno-

vativetoolstoempowerindividuals

recognizedashigh-potentialleadersby

guidingparticipantsthroughthepro-

cessoffinding,focusingandenacting

theirpassionforthecommunity.

Ashley Meredith

Lowe(Knoxville)

hasbeenappointed

totheTennesseeBar

Association’sExecutive

Councilforthe

EnvironmentalSection.

Achievements

Pam Carter

Nancy Scott Degan

Sheri Fox

Yanika Smith-Bartley

Donna Fraiche

Charles Grant

Jennifer Hall

Frank James

Linda Klein

Emily Landry

Ashley Lowe

continued next page


7

Stephanie M. Rippee

(Jackson)hasbeen

selectedforinclusionin

theMississippi Business Journal’sannuallistofMississippi’sLeading

BusinessWomen.Ms.

Rippeewasfeaturedinaspecialedi-

tionofthepublication

inSeptember.

Fern H. Singer

(Birmingham)was

namedoneofthe

Birmingham Business Journal’sTopBirminghamWomenof2008.

Sara M. Turner

(Birmingham)has

beennamedvicechair

ofDRI’sTechnology

Committee.

OnJune13,Nancy A.

Vincent(Nashville)

waspresentedwitha

President’sAwardfrom

outgoingTennesseeBar

AssociationPresidentMarciaEason,for

herworkaschairoftheTBATaskforce

onRacialDiversity.

Gretchen Zmitrovich

(Jackson)wasappoint-

edtotheexecutivecom-

mitteeoftheMississippi

BarAssociation’s

SectiononNatural

Resources,Energyand

EnvironmentalLaw.

Achievements, continued

Stephanie Rippee

Fern Singer

Sara Turner

Nancy Vincent

Gretchen Zmitrovich

BakerDonelsonhelditssecondMinority Attorney Retreatin

NewOrleansthisMay.Overtwodays,morethan30attendees

heldfrankdiscussionsonthecurrentstatusofminorities in

thelegalfield,tacklingsubjectssuchasrecruitment,retention,

mentoring,clientdemandsandclientdevelopment.Members

committedthemselvestoseveralinitiatives,andlefttheretreat

energizedanddedicatedtoworkingtowardchange.

OnMay 29 the Birmingham office hosted a luncheonwith

thetheme“Reflections Towards the Future.”Thisluncheon

was planned as continued contemplation and discussion

on the 40th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s

death.SpeakersincludedOdessaWoolfolkandDr.Lawrence

Pijeaux of the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, and Rev.

GeraldAustin,whowasprofiledintheBirminghamnewsas

apersonwhohastaken

the legacyofDr.King’s

work and put it into

practical application to

help individuals move

from dependency to

true economic self-

sufficiency. Inaddition,

theofficerecognizedthe2008BakerDonelsonBCRIinterns:

Gary A. Crosby II, Melinda Marie Thornton and Kendall

RutledgeChew.

On May 30, the

Women’s Initiative

welcomed the United

States Ambassador

from Liechtenstein,

Claudia Fritsche, as

the guest of honor at

the regular Firm-wide

gathering of theWomen’s Initiative groups from all offices.

The Ambassador spoke about her fascinating career as a

diplomat from a country which didn’t grant women the

righttovoteuntil1984.Approximately120BakerDonelson

attorneys,summerassociates,paralegalsandguestsattended

thegatheringbyvideoconferencefromourofficesacrossthe

company.AlsoinattendancewastheAmbassadorfromOman,

Hunaina Al-Mughairy. The connection with Ambassador

FritschewasfacilitatedbySherylBey(Jackson).

The members of the Chattanooga Women’s Initiative

participated in the

Women Build project

for Habitat for

Humanity in June.

Fourteen volunteers

from the Chattanooga

office, including

Activities

continued next page


8

attorneys,staffandfamilymembers,donnedt-shirtsandhard

hatsspeciallydesignedfortheevent,lacedontheirtoolbelts,

andspentthedayinstallingexteriorinsulationonthehouse

and sealing areas around windows and doors. Latrice Kirk

joined the Baker Donelson volunteers in working on what

wouldbehometoherandhertwo-year-oldson,Joshua.

Around25 clients, prospects andBakerDonelson attorneys

attended the “Street Savvy” event, hosted in June by the

Firm’s New Orleans

Women’s Initiative.

The self-defense

demonstration and

networking gathering

was held at The Savvy

Gourmet and featured

two members of the

NewOrleansPoliceDepartmentSWATteam,whoprovided

informativeandpracticaltipsforstayingsafeandevenshowed

participants how to properly taze a “perp”! A networking

reception followed.Erin Pelleteri, Debra Yates, Lori Hook

and Gina Farago(allofNewOrleans)plannedandexecuted

theevent.

TheNashville Women’s

Initiative hosted its

secondannualTaste of

Fine Wines at Acorn

Restaurant on June 26.

Representatives from

severalclientcompanies

aswellasotherwomen

businessownersjoinedBakerDonelsonattorneysinsampling

winesfromwinerieswhichareownedorfoundedbywomen.

The Memphis office sponsored the Mid-South Minority

Economic Development Fair August 26 – 28. The event

is coordinatedbyMid-SouthMinorityBusinessCouncil, the

Memphis area’s foremost minority business development

organization. Attorneys Beverly Gates, Buck Lewis, Rob

Liddon, Ed Young, Imad Abdullah, Lodie Biggs, Betty

Campbell, Valerie Johnson, Anne Mathes, Stacie Winkler,

Lewis Donelson and Charles Hamlett attended various

eventsalongsideseveralclients.

TheChattanooga Women’s InitiativehosteditsfirstTaste of

Fine WineswinetastingandnetworkingeventonSeptember

18at212MarketRestaurant.Thethirty-plusguestsincluded

women from several client companies and other women

professionals and business owners. The goal of the event

was to solidify relationshipswith existing clients and build

relationships with other women business leaders in the

community. Thefeaturedwineshighlightedthepresenceof

womeninthewineindustry,rangingfromwomenoperators

of the first nationally distributedwine inChina, to the first

femalewinemakerinSouthAfrica.

The Nashville office sponsored the 26th annual Minority

Enterprise Development Week, a national celebration in

recognitionofthecontributionsmadebyminoritybusinesses

to the nation’s economy. Attorneys Mark Baugh, Nancy

Vincent, Sameak Belvitt and Nicole James attended the

MEDWeekGalaonSunday,October12aboard theGeneral

Jacksonshowboat,alongwithseveralclients.

SeveralNashvilleattorneysandstaffmembersparticipatedin

Habitat for Humanity’s Women Build project inLebanon,

TennesseeonOctober11.

Callaway Bain,Memphis’headoffice

clerk and pastor of Mt. Olive Baptist

Church, earned his Master’s Degree

in Theology from Tennessee School

ofReligiononMay16.TheMemphis

officehonoredCallawayandhisfamily

withareceptiononOctober15.

The Rules of Professional Conduct of the various states where our offices are located require the following language: THIS IS AN ADVERTISEMENT. Ben Adams, CEO and Chairman of the Firm, maintains an office at 165 Madison Avenue, Suite 2000, Memphis, Tennessee 38103, 901.526.2000. No representation is made that the quality of the legal services to be performed is greater than the quality of legal services performed by other lawyers. FREE BACKGROUND INFORMATION AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST. ©2008 Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC

Activities, continued

this is an advertisement. diversity matters - baker donelson a diversity effort and understand its...

Documents