There was a time early in Roderick Palmore's legal career when his father became concerned Palmore couldn't hold down a job. Having spent his whole career at Pittsburgh's Westinghouse Air Brake Co., Palmore's father worried when Palmore left his first job at a small Pittsburgh law firm after just three years for a federal prosecutor gig in Chicago.

But the leaps of faith Palmore has made, time and again in his career, have been a key element to his success. And his biggest leap of faith has been fighting for diversity.

After stints at Wildman Harrold and Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal—always one of just a few African-American lawyers at the firm—Palmore went in-house at Sara Lee Corp. In 2004, Palmore sent shock waves through the legal world with a Call to Action, backed by the Association of Corporate Counsel. He urged in-house counsel to make good on their 1999 declaration “Diversity in the Workplace—A Statement of Principle.” More than 100 GCs signed a pledge to aim more work at firms that improved their diversity.