Leadership Council on Legal Diversity Names Crowell & Moring’s Ellen Dwyer as Chair

Kim Rivera of HP Inc. Named Chair-Elect

Richmond, VA. – November 26, 2019– The Leadership Council on Legal Diversity announced today that Ellen Moran Dwyer of Crowell & Moring will take over as chair, leading one of the nation’s pioneer organizations promoting diversity in the legal profession. Kim Rivera, president, strategy and business management and chief legal officer at HP Inc., was named chair-elect.

Dwyer, chair of the executive committee at Crowell & Moring, will assume the post on January 1, 2020. She succeeds Laura Stein, executive vice president and general counsel – corporate affairs of The Clorox Company, who chaired the organization from 2017 to 2019.

“We are incredibly fortunate to have these two widely respected individuals take on these leadership positions,” said Robert J. Grey, Jr., president of LCLD, an organization with more than 300 corporate chief legal officers and law firm managing partners as members. “They have distinguished themselves in their own careers as well has having demonstrated a deep commitment to the cause of diversity and inclusion in the legal profession.”

Dwyer’s leadership experience and her commitment to diversity within the legal profession are longstanding and multi-faceted. A partner in the firm’s employment practice, she has served as the firm’s managing partner for eight years, general counsel, and chair of its promotions, diversity, and lawyer development committees during her career. A driving force in creating the legal industry’s first sponsorship program to advance talented women and diverse lawyers, Dwyer was recently recognized by Corporate Counsel for her innovative leadership as part of their “Women, Influence and Power in Law” award series. She was also named one of America’s most innovative managing partners by Law360, in part for her efforts to recruit and retain diverse attorneys.

“It is an honor to serve as chair of LCLD and I look forward to partnering with in-house counsel and other law firm leaders who share my passion for creating environments where women and diverse lawyers can thrive, gain sponsorship, and make enduring positive changes in the profession for the next generation,” Dwyer said. “This is an important moment in society, especially for our diverse talent—to be visible, to be heard, and to have the agency and opportunities to succeed.”

In 2019, Crowell & Moring achieved Mansfield Rule 2.0 Certification and was ranked among Working Mother’s “Best Law Firms for Women” for the eighth consecutive year. The Mansfield Rule measures whether law firms have affirmatively considered women, lawyers of color, and LGBTQ+ lawyers — at least 30 percent of the candidate pool — for significant leadership and governance roles in the firm as well as promotions to equity partner and senior-level lateral hiring. The firm has received a 100 percent score on the HRC's Corporate Equality Index for eight consecutive years, and was named an LCLD Top Performer during the last four consecutive years, earning the organization’s Compass Award in 2018 and 2019.

About Crowell & Moring LLP

Crowell & Moring LLP is an international law firm with approximately 550 lawyers representing clients in litigation and arbitration, regulatory, and transactional matters. The firm is internationally recognized for its representation of Fortune 500 companies in high-stakes litigation, as well as its ongoing commitment to pro bono service and diversity. The firm has offices in Washington, D.C., New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Orange County, London, and Brussels.