Venable is pleased to announce that Witt Chang, counsel in the Los Angeles Commercial Litigation Group, was named a 2021 Fellow of the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD). Additionally, Danielle Lawrence, an associate in the Labor and Employment Group, and Dhananjay Adusumilli, an associate in the Corporate Group, were selected to participate in the LCLD Pathfinder mentoring program.
The Pathfinder program is designed for diverse, high-potential, early-career attorneys at LCLD member organizations. The goal of this program is to provide the Pathfinders with practical tools for developing and leveraging critical career development strategies, including leadership and the building of professional networks. Ms. Lawrence and Mr. Adusumilli will participate in intensive training, online experiential learning, and opportunities to network with peers and esteemed LCLD Fellows and alumni in small group gatherings.
LCLD's landmark Fellows program works to identify high-potential attorneys from diverse backgrounds and set them on the path to leadership of their organizations. Fellows are accepted into this one-year training program with the goal of developing strong leadership and relationship skills and championing diversity in the legal profession. Mr. Chang will join this esteemed group of attorneys as they participate in relationship-building, training, peer-group projects, and extensive contact with LCLD's top leadership and the best teachers in the business.
Mr. Chang’s involvement in LCLD began in 2016 as one of Venable’s representatives in the Pathfinder Program. Since then, he has maintained an active role in LCLD leadership. He previously served as a co-chair of the planning committee charged with organizing the 2018 Pathfinder alumni conference in Los Angeles, was selected to be a member of the inaugural 2019 cohort of LCLD’s West Coast Sustainable Partnership Program, and serves on the 2020–2021 Executive Council as vice chair of programs. He is also involved as a mentor in LCLD’s Compass Conversation program and as a Pathfinder program facilitator.
LCLD is a growing organization of more than 350 corporate chief legal officers and law firm managing partners who are personally committed to creating a truly diverse legal profession. Venable has participated in LCLD since 2013 and has been the recipient for the last three years of LCLD’s Top Performer and Compass awards, which are bestowed upon LCLD’s most active members.
