Black in-house counsel and those interested in becoming general counsel one day now have a resource to see what their peers would consider the core criteria in becoming a general counsel of a Fortune 1000 company.

The website for the Black GC 2025 is now live and sheds some light on what it takes to become a general counsel.

Under the National Bar Association, Black GC 2025 was created in 2017 by former AkzoNobel general counsel, Ernest Tuckett, and April Miller Boise, the former general counsel of Meritor Inc. The ultimate goal of the program is to increase the number of black general counsel in Fortune 1000 companies from 50 to 100. Now, the initiative, which is sponsored by Thompson Hine and has been assisted by Alston & Bird, Beveridge & Diamond and Cooley, has launched its website with a list of black Fortune 1000 general counsel and several others who work for private companies.

"It's good for the community to have a good sense of who we are and where we are," Tuckett, who is now senior counsel at Thompson Hine, said in an interview with Corporate Counsel on Wednesday. "We're trying to identify as many talented black lawyers who aspire to be at that top in-house level."

The website also lists what the group's advisory council identified as core criteria to become a general counsel. The core criteria listed on the website are strong executive and interpersonal skills; significant technical legal expertise and experience; and demonstrating excellent judgment.

"That is set up for the purpose of self-assessment," Tuckett explained. "We want black lawyers who aspire to be a general counsel understand what they need to be doing or learning."

Younger attorneys who hope to one day become general counsel can now take that core criterion to their mentors.

"One of the reasons the program has resonated with people is because we are working to cultivate substantive conversations and relationships among black lawyers and to drive clear, very tangible goals to help move the needle in the C-suite," Boise, who was not available for an interview Wednesday, said in a statement.

Moving into 2020 the initiative plans on having more in-person meetings and webinars. Tuckett said there are approximately 30 members who are deemed ready for general counsel roles at Fortune 1000 companies. Tuckett said there will likely be more programming and webinars in 2020. The initiative plans on getting those companies involved with the cohort. The initiative will also continue to consider applications of black attorneys who self-identify as ready now to be a candidate at a major company.

Those who apply as ready for a top job must list their experience and their mentors who will vouch for them.

"All of this ties into creating a pipeline, preparing the pipeline and identifying the people hiring so that we have a chance at increasing and advancing [in-house] diversity in leadership," Tuckett said.

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