Washington, DC—Dentons, the world’s largest law firm, announced today that lawyers Shannon Baxter and Shelby Sklar were selected to participate in programs organized by the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD). The LCLD, through its Fellows and Pathfinder Programs, teaches career development, leadership and relationship building skills that prepare lawyers from diverse backgrounds and levels of professional experience for leadership positions, to foster diversity and inclusion within the legal industry.
For the 2019 class, Baxter was selected for the Fellows Program and Sklar for the Pathfinder Program.
As a member of the LCLD’s inaugural Fellows Program, Baxter will complete training and peer-group projects, attend development conferences and work extensively with LCLD’s top leadership, which includes general counsel and managing partners from preeminent organizations over the course of a year. The intense professional development series positions high-potential attorneys to become the next generation of leaders in the legal industry. Baxter, a partner in the Firm’s Banking and Finance practice and resident in the Atlanta office, focuses on representing creditors and borrowers in financing transactions across a variety of industries, including aerospace, distribution, energy, food and agribusiness, gaming, health care, manufacturing, retail, service, sports, technology, and telecommunications.
As a participant in the Pathfinder Program, Sklar will complete online experiential learning courses, work with members of the LCLD Fellows Program and network with peers and experts in the legal industry. The six- to seven-month program identifies high-performing early-career attorneys and arms them with the tools necessary to develop foundational leadership and build relationships. Sklar, managing associate of the Firm’s Chicago office and a member of the Real Estate practice, represents lenders, developers and tenants in the negotiation and documentation of real estate transactions, with an emphasis on financing, development, purchase and sale of commercial, retail, mixed-use and multifamily real estate.
LCLD Member law firms and corporations nominate talented individuals online according to each program’s respective selection forms and processes.
Dentons shares a special connection with the LCLD. Rick Palmore, senior counsel at the Firm, is a nationally recognized advocate for diversity in the legal industry. He authored A Call to Action: Diversity in the Legal Profession, a legal manifesto urging general counsel to drive diversity in their departments, which later grew into the LCLD initiative. The LCLD now includes more than 225 corporate chief legal officers and law firm managing partners. As the founding partner of the LCLD’s board of directors, Palmore continues to serve on its executive committee.
