Advancing its mission to promote diversity and inclusion in the law, the Boston Bar Association today named seven attorneys who will serve on the 2013 Beacon Award Selection Committee. The BBA’s Beacon Award, developed by the Diversity & Inclusion Section and established in 2010, honors institutions or individuals who have proven their commitment to promoting diversity and inclusion in the legal community. The award recipient must either be located in Massachusetts or have had a significant impact in Massachusetts.
“Fostering diversity and inclusion within legal scholarship, recruitment and retention practices, pro bono work, community service, legal advocacy, and legislative advocacy requires tireless effort, since these areas are constantly changing and evolving,” said Susan Alexander, the 2013 Beacon Award Selection Committee Chair and General Counsel of Biogen Idec Inc. “It takes a great deal of skill to keep up and stand out as exemplary in this environment — we want to recognize these key players as well as raise the bar for excellence in promoting diversity.”
The selection committee itself exhibits the diversity that the Beacon Award acknowledges and encourages, with its members representing a range of backgrounds and experiences. In the coming months, they will undertake the difficult but rewarding task of carefully reviewing the award nominations — which are sure to be plentiful — and selecting the winner.
If you would like to nominate an individual or institution for the Beacon Award, please contact Heather Leary by June 25, 2013: hleary@bostonbar.org or 617-778-1912. The nomination form can be found here.
Committee members are as follows:
Susan Alexander, Biogen Idec Inc. (Chair)
Susan has been the Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Biogen Idec since January 2006. Prior to that, she had served as the Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of PAREXEL International Corp. since September 2003. From June 2001 to September 2003, Susan served as General Counsel of IONA Technologies. From January 1995 to May 2001, she served as Counsel at Cabot Corp. Prior to that, she was a partner of the law firms of Hinckley, Allen & Snyder and Fine & Ambrogne. She is a member of the Boston Bar Association Council.
Susan received her J.D. degree from Boston University School of Law and her B.A. degree from Wellesley College.
June Duchesne, EMC Corporation
June is Vice President and Assistant General Counsel of EMC Corporation in Hopkinton, Massachusetts. EMC is a global leader in enabling businesses and service providers to transform their operations and deliver IT as a service. At EMC, June works on a wide variety of corporate and securities matters. She leads a team that is responsible for M&A, strategic investments, securities, corporate governance, executive compensation, real estate and other general corporate matters and also works with key committees of the Board of Directors and with the full Board of Directors. Prior to joining EMC, June was an associate at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP in Boston.
She holds a B.A. from the University of California at Berkeley and a J.D. from Columbia Law School.
Gerald Hendrick, Edwards Wildman Palmer LLP
Gerald (“Jed”) is the partner-in-charge of Edwards Wildman Palmer’s Boston office. Jed served as a co-chair of the Business Law Department and is a member of the firm’s Operating Committee. He acts as general counsel to numerous public and private companies in diverse industries and also advises boards of directors regarding governance and fiduciary matters. Previously, Jed was Senior VP, General Counsel for Dennison Manufacturing Company, and Senior VP-Administration, General Counsel for H.P. Hood. In both positions, he was responsible for legal and key non-legal executive functions. Jed participates actively in local and regional projects, including serving as director of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce and as a volunteer tutor in Boston public schools. He is also a frequent author and panelist for MCLE. In addition, Jed is a member of the BBA Council and Audit Committee, as well as a past member of the Annual Meeting Committee.
A graduate of the University of Fribourg (Switzerland) and Providence College, Jed earned his law degree from Suffolk University Law School.
Sarah Kim, Bingham McCutchen LLP
Sarah’s practice focuses on securities enforcement, securities litigation, and broker-dealer defense. She represents public companies, investment companies, broker-dealers, investment advisers and individuals in enforcement matters brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission and industry SROs. Many of the cases in which she has been involved include allegations of insider trading, market timing, and late trading. A substantial portion of her practice also includes defending clients in shareholder class actions. As a member of the firm’s Securities and Financial Institutions Litigation Group, Sarah spent several months living in Tokyo while advising a major international banking institution on sales practice issues. Sarah was recognized by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly as one of its 2011 “Lawyers of the Year” and “Top Women of Law.” In 2011, she was also named “Best Under 40” by the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association.
Sarah received her JD from Villanova University School of Law and BA from Dartmouth College.
Christina Miller, Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office
Christina is Chief of District Courts and Community Prosecutions for the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, where she oversees the office’s operations in the Boston Municipal and District Courts, manages the hiring and training of Assistant District Attorneys, and supervises hate crime prosecutions. She has prosecuted criminal cases in the Appellate, Superior, and District Courts of the Commonwealth through her work in the Suffolk, Norfolk, and Essex District Attorneys’ Offices. Christina is a member and former Co-Chair of the BBA’s Criminal Law Section, during which time she organized a number of BBA programs, represented the BBA on the Governor’s Anti-Crime Council, and contributed to the Boston Bar Journal. Christina is an Ex Officio Chair for the Massachusetts Lesbian and Gay Bar Association and served on its board for six years. In addition, Christina is a past member of the Annual Meeting Committee, and she currently serves as a Co-Chair of the BBA Diversity & Inclusion Section’s Affinity Bar Relations Subcommittee, a member of the BBA Council, and a member of the Crime Lab Task Force.
Christina graduated from Ohio Wesleyan University and Northeastern University School of Law.
Macey Russell, Choate, Hall & Stewart
Macey’s practice focuses on the representation of financial institutions, banks, businesses and corporations in disputes involving contracts, securities, investments, and lending arrangements, and in class action matters in state court, federal court and in arbitrations. In 2007, the Governor appointed Macey to the Judicial Nominating Commission which recommends judicial appointments at all levels throughout the Commonwealth. After serving as Vice Chairman in 2010, the Governor appointed Macey as Chairman of the Commission beginning in 2011. In 2009, Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly named him a “Diversity Hero.” In 2009, Litigation Counsel of America named Macey to its Trial Lawyer Honorary Society, which is composed of less than one-half of one percent of American lawyers. In 2011, the American Bar Foundation named him a Fellow, which is reserved for one third of one percent of attorneys in his jurisdiction. Also in 2011, the Boston Bar Association appointed Macey as Co-Chair of its Diversity and Inclusion Committee. The Burton Foundation and Library of Congress honored him with a 2011 Burton Award for excellence in legal writing for his co-authored article “Developing Great Minority Lawyers for the Next Generation.” Macey is also listed in Best Lawyers in America.
Macey received his BA from Trinity College and his JD from Suffolk University Law School.
Abim Thomas, Goodwin Procter LLP
Abim serves as counsel in Goodwin Procter’s Litigation Department and a member of its White Collar Crimes and Government Investigations, Securities Litigation, and Gaming, Gambling & Sweepstakes Practices. She joined Goodwin Procter in 2012 after serving as Deputy Chief Legal Counsel to Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick. Abim focuses her practice on representing operating companies, entrepreneurs, and investors in the gaming and gambling field. She has extensive experience in this area, having advised Governor Patrick on the Commonwealth’s 2011 gaming bill and serving as the state’s lead negotiator for the 2012 tribal-state gaming compact. Abim is the vice president of the Massachusetts Black Lawyers Association, serves on the board of the Women’s Bar Foundation and was recently selected by the Women’s Bar Association as a member of its Women’s Leadership Initiative. She is a member of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court’s Standing Committee on Pro Bono Legal Services and has worked for the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights in both Boston and San Francisco.
Abim is a graduate of Harvard University and Georgetown University Law Center.
