MoForever Alumni News - Winter 2019

MoForever Winter 2019 | 26 2018 MoFo Diversity Summit: Putting Our Stories to Work The MoFo Diversity Summit is a special tradition at the firm. Over 20 years ago MoFo began hosting a biennial professional development workshop for its U.S.-based lawyers of color. In 2014, the event was expanded to include LGBTQ+ lawyers and renamed the MoFo Diversity Summit. This year MoFo also welcomed its 1L Wetmore Fellows and diverse Bay Area summer associates. “Every time, I leave the Diversity Summit reinvigorated and reinvested in the firm,” Purvi Patel, Partner and Diversity Strategy Committee Co-chair at the firm, shared. “This year was no different. The Summit provided a meaningful opportunity to connect with our diverse and LGBTQ+ associates, and I was blown away by their engagement and commitment to the firm and its D&I initiatives.” MoFo kicked off the 2018 Diversity Summit on Wednesday, June 20, with a leadership dinner to recognize the work of the Affinity Group Chairs and Associate Advisory and Engagement Committee (AAEC). Firm chair Larren Nashelsky and Director of Diversity + Inclusion Natalie Kernisant addressed this group of associate leaders who help us to define firm culture and pay it forward, thanking them for their commitment and efforts. “When we talk about diversity and inclusion, we often talk about the firm’s commitment to these values; we talk about things like our rankings, programming, and initiatives,” Natalie Kernisant began, “but at the heart of it all are the attorneys who dedicate countless hours to make MoFo an inclusive place to work.” Following the leadership dinner, over 150 MoFo lawyers and staff gathered at the Omni Hotel in San Francisco on Thursday, June 21 and Friday, June 22. This year’s theme, “Putting Our Stories to Work,” celebrated the personal stories and narratives that make us unique. Something unique to the 2018 Summit was the special track created for the Wetmore Fellows and diverse Bay Area summer associates. Day one ended with a reception, wine tasting, and dinner at Dogpatch Wineworks. Associates enjoyed networking with local clients and alumni, and MoFo alumnus and chair emeritus Keith Wetmore had a chance to meet the 2018 class of Wetmore Fellows, a program initiated under his leadership five years ago. ALUMNI UPDATE DIVERSITY MoFo’s Craig Martin, Managing Partner, Dean Atyia, Associate, Trevor James, Partner, and Anna Erickson White, Partner, at the Thursday evening wine tasting and dinner at Dogpatch WineWorks. ALUMN I UPDAT ES