Corporate Counsel is excited to announce our honorees for our 2021 Women, Influence & Power in Law Awards! These awards honor general counsel, in-house leaders and law firm partners who have demonstrated a commitment to advancing the empowerment of women in law. These outstanding women will be recognized at an awards dinner on Oct. 7 as part of our Women, Influence & Power in Law Conference in Washington, D.C.

These women leaders are business strategists, complex problem-solvers and, of course, great lawyers. But what particularly makes these women stand out is their personal dedication to the promotion of diversity in the legal industry. These are women championing women!

Our WIPL awards recognize legal department leaders in the following industries for their work in leading though crisis: Banking & Finance; Insurance; Retail & Consumer Goods; Health Care; Technology, Media & Telecom; and Transportation & Infrastructure. We also are highlighting extraordinary leadership by recognizing female in-house counsel and law firm partners in the following categories: Innovative Leadership; Thought Leadership; Collaborative Leadership;  Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Champion; General Counsel of the Year or Managing Partner of the Year; and Lifetime Achievement.

Profiles of the below honorees will run on Corporate Counsel in October as part of the recognition event. Congratulations to all the amazing women on this list!

Legal Department Categories

General Counsel of the Year—In-House

  • Amy Fliegelman Olli, Executive Vice President & General Counsel, VMware Inc.
  • Ana Salas Siegel, Executive Vice President and General Counsel, NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises
  • Lynne Puckett, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, Celanese Corp.
  • Cheree Johnson, Senior Vice President, General Counsel & Secretary, WR Grace & Co.
  • Christine Kalla, Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Travelers

Lifetime Achievement—In-House

  • Connie Brenton, Vice President– Law, Technology and Operations, NetApp Inc.
  • Loretta Cecil, General Counsel & EVP, Change Healthcare
  • Marnie Seif, Chief Legal Officer and Chief People Officer, Analog Devices Inc.

Leadership Through Crisis: Industry—In-House

  • Banking & Finance: Deborah McCrimmon, VP, Litigation, Ripple
  • Insurance: Christine Kalla, Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Travelers
  • Retail & Consumer Goods: Jacqueline Lee, Vice President, General Counsel, Flynn Restaurant Group LP
  • Health Care: Kathleen Sweitzer, General Counsel, Maestro Health
  • Technology, Media & Telecom: Holly Windham, Executive Vice President, Chief Legal and People Officer & Corporate Secretary, Rackspace Technology
  • Transportation & Infrastructure: Kristin Meikle, Principal Counsel, Bechtel

Collaborative Leadership—In-House

  • Rachel O'Neill, Vice President, Group General Counsel, and Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer, Travelers
  • Pervin Taleyarkhan, Legal Counsel, Whirlpool Corp.
  • Kathryn Hartrick, Vice President and General Counsel, Robertson Lowstuter Inc.
  • Susannah Stroud-Wright, Chief Legal Officer, Credit Karma
  • Hillary Victor, Executive Vice President, General Counsel, Empire Today LLC
  • Lisa Borgeson, Senior Director, Legal, Worldwide Employment & Compliance, NetApp

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Champion—In-House

  • Melissa Sladden, Senior Counsel, Downstream & Chemicals Litigation Management Group, Chevron Products Co.
  • Jodi Caro, General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer and Corporate Secretary, Ulta Beauty Inc.
  • Maureen O'Neill, Senior Vice President, Diversity & Inclusion Officer, Consilio
  • Nicole Linda Kelsey, General Counsel and Secretary, Amyris Inc.
  • Megan Lutes, General Counsel at Glowforge, Inc., former Acting Head of Legal, Convoy Inc.
  • Tina Newsome-Lee, Managing Counsel, Travelers

Innovative Leadership—In-House

  • Dina Traugot, Vice President, Group General Counsel and Chief Contracts Counsel, Travelers
  • Lee Ann Stevenson, Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Chief Administrative Officer (Vericast); Senior Vice President (MacAndrews & Forbes Inc.)
  • Erin Ziaja, Associate General Counsel and Head of Litigation, NFP
  • Evelyn Crane-Oliver, SVP, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, Robert Half
  • Joanne Flack, Senior Director, Legal, Rackspace Technology
  • Caren Ulrich Stacy, Founder and CEO, Diversity Lab

Thought Leadership—In-House

  • Beatrice Zdrodowski, General Counsel and Risk Management Officer, Ungerboeck Systems International LLC
  • Michelle Lee, Assistant General Counsel, Pinterest
  • Marina Carpenter, EVP, Public Affairs, Chief Compliance Officer and General Counsel, Arizona Coyotes
  • Megan Ryan, General Counsel, Chief Legal and Compliance Officer and Executive VP, Nassau Health Care Corp.
  • Jessica Nguyen, Chief Legal Officer, Lexion
  • Amy Yeung, General Counsel and Chief Privacy Officer, Lotame Solutions Inc.

Law Firm Categories

Managing Partner of the Year—Law Firm

  • Doneene K. Damon, President, Richards, Layton & Finger
  • Joanne Katsantonis, Deputy Managing Partner for Development, McGuireWoods LLP
  • Kalpana Srinivasan, Managing Partner, Susman Godfrey LLP
  • Kelly Culhane, Co-Founder, Chief Operating Officer & General Counsel, Culhane Meadows PLLC
  • Kristina Lawson, Managing Partner, Hanson Bridgett LLP
  • Patricia Brown Holmes, RSHC, Managing Partner, Riley Safer Holmes & Cancila
  • Rebecca Faith Bratter, Deputy Managing Partner, Greenspoon Marder

Lifetime Achievement—Law Firm

  • Anna Glick, Senior Counsel, Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft
  • Connie Lewis Lensing, Counsel, Bradley
  • Ora Fisher, Partner, former Global Vice Chair of the firm, Latham & Watkins
  • Sheila Slocum Hollis, Chair, Duane Morris (Washington, D.C., office)
  • Valerie Ford Jacob, Co-Head Global Capital Markets Practice and Financial Institutions Practice, Freshfields

Collaborative Leadership—Law Firm

  • Anne Lockner, Partner, Robins Kaplan
  • Amanda Smith, Chief Engagement Officer, Morgan Lewis
  • Jennifer Pafiti, Partner, Pomerantz LLP
  • Meg George, Office Managing Partner, Akerman LLP
  • Tiffany Lee, Partner, Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP
  • Cheryl Scarboro, Partner, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Champion—Law Firm

  • Sheila Boston, Partner, Arnold & Porter
  • Kimberly Bullock Gatling, Partner, Fox Rothschild LLP
  • Alethia Nancoo, Partner, Squire Patton Boggs
  • Jenny Martinez, Senior Partner, Munck Wilson Mandala
  • Emily Burkhardt Vicente, Partner, Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP
  • Amber Finch, Partner, Reed Smith LLP
  • Amal Bouchenaki, Partner, Herbert Smith Freehills
  • Narges Kakalia, Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Mintz
  • Aisha Greene, Director of Attorney Development and Training, Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP
  • Tanisha James, Partner, Cooley LLP

Innovative Leadership—Law Firm

  • Elizabeth Alcalde, Partner, Akerman
  • Lisa Collins, Partner, BakerHostetler
  • Elizabeth Espín Stern, Partner, Mayer Brown LLP
  • Kimberly Lau, Partner, Warshaw Burstein
  • Rebecca Wright, Partner, Rathbone Group LLC
  • Sunni Beville, Partner, Brown Rudnick LLP
  • Julie Jones, Chair Ropes & Gray LLP

Thought Leadership—Law Firm

  • Amber Walsh, Partner, McGuireWoods LLP
  • Amy J. Traub, Partner, BakerHostetler
  • Jaime Santos, Partner, Goodwin
  • Kelly A. Waters, Partner, Wood Smith Henning & Berman LLP
  • Quyen Ta, Partner, King & Spalding
  • Sigrid McCawley, Managing Partner, Boies Schiller Flexner

Join hundreds of legal leaders for three days of learning, networking and unprecedented exchange with the most powerful women in law. Women, Influence & Power in Law is designed to arm you with the strategy and practical solutions to be a driving force both professionally and within your organization. Go beyond the surface issues to dig deep into what it means to grow, inspire, lead, and excel in the legal industry. Register Today!