1
Diversity Matters Spring 2008
Diversity Matters Valuing Race and Gender The Diversity Newsletter of Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC
Fall 2008
OneoftheFirm’sstrategicpillarsisShared Beliefs,whichisexhibitedthroughourcommitmenttodiversityandinclusion.
To ensure that all staff and attorneys are
provided with information and training
that will help them further this shared
belief,beginninginDecember2008,Baker
Donelson will roll out a comprehensive
inclusion training program designed by a
diversityconsultant.
“ThestrengthofourFirmisourstaffandourattorneys,”
saysMark Baugh, Chair of the Firm’s Diversity Committee.
“This customized inclusion training is one way of ensuring
thatwecontinuetoeffectivelyaddressourclients’needs.”
Twenty-oneBaker attorneys from all offices volunteered
to be the Firm’s instructors for the program. They have
completed24hoursof“trainthetrainer”sessionstobecome
certified,andinthecomingmonthswillinturnleadtraining
sessionsforallstaffandotherattorneys.Thistrainingwillnot
onlybenefittheFirminadvancingourdiversityinitiatives,but
willalsobenefitourclientsandourcommunities.
Baker Introduces Comprehensive Inclusion Training
AnumberofBakerDonelsonclientshaveinitiatedprograms
similartoourWomen’sInitiative. Jackson,Mississippi-based
client Horne LLP shares a geographic footprint with Baker
Donelson, as well as a sincere interest in creating a work
environment that promotes the success and retention of its
professionalwomen. Toward that end, the accounting and
businessadvisoryconsultingcompanyofficially launchedits
ownWomen’s Initiative program
inFebruaryofthisyear.
Not surprisingly, this Top
10 Southeastern accounting
firm (which is also ranked 45th
nationally)feelsitisimportantto
haveadata-driven initiative.Oneof the first things theydid
was to roll out an internal survey from RSMMcGladrey (a
networkofwhichtheyareamember),whichcoveredgeneral
issues of employee satisfaction. They are using some of the
datagatheredinthatprocesstohelpdevelopandinformtheir
prioritieswiththeirWomen’sInitiative.
“Itallboilsdowntothebusinesscaseforaprogramlike
this,” says Angela Beasley Phyfer, a tax partner with Horne
whoservedontheAmericanInstituteofCPA’snationalWork/
LifeBalancecommitteeforthreeyears.
“Our profession tends to lose women at the middle
management and supervisory career stage – that timewhen
womentendtohavefamilies–andwehavetoaddressthat.”
Many of the issues that sometimes get pigeonholed as
“women’s” issuesactuallycanbetermedmoreappropriately
as“family”issues,Phyfernotes,andHornehasrecentlyhired
aWork/Life Coordinator to helpmanage what Horne calls
“careerbalancearrangements.”
“The firm bends over
backwards to accommodate
our professionals,” Phyfer
notes. “Any good performer is
eligible to submit a request for
accommodations.”
Many workers are already telecommuting or working
compressedworkweeks.
ProgramsintheplanningstagesforthefledglingWomen’s
Initiativeincludeawomen’smentoringprogram(whichwill
be open to all female employees and shouldbe inplace by
year-end) and internal and external networking events that
could involve Horne alone or may involve partnering with
othercompanies– likeBakerDonelson– toofferexpanded
networkingopportunities.
Horne LLP Working to Retain and Advance Women by Laura Ellis
This is an advertisement.
Diversity Matters Fall 2008
2
The fact is thatdiversity isno longer just theright thing todo. It’sanessential
factortocompeteintoday’sbusinessclimate.Soitshouldbenosurprisethatcorporate
clientsexpecttheiroutsidecounseltosharediversityasacorevalue.What’sclearis
thatBigBusinessincreasinglyunderstandsthatafocusondiversityismorethanjusta
feel-goodeffort.Well-manageddiversitycanbeasourceofsatisfactionforemployers
andemployeesofallbackgrounds,races,creeds,genders,sexualorientationandlevels
ofphysicalabilities.Whendiversityispoorlymanaged,however,itcanbesourceof
frustration, anger, fear about personal security and concerns for one’s future.Many
studiesrevealthatcorporateculturesareenhancedbydiversity:corporatebottomlines
areimproved,andshareholders’pocketsareenrichedbydiversity.
Achieving Diversity Achieving diversity does nothing for an organization unless that diversity
is managed effectively. It is not a natural thing for people of different cultural
backgrounds, religious or moral upbringings, cognitive styles or even genders to
communicateeffectively,appreciatewhatshapeseachothers’viewpoints,debatewith
eachotherwithoutgivingoffense,orotherwisegetalong together.Whenamanager
says“thisdiversitythingwouldbeeasyifonlyeveryonereactedandbehavedthesame
way,”or“ImustbetotallyconsistentinwhatIdo;surelyIshould
beexpectedtotreateveryonethesame,”thenheorsheisreflecting
the real challenge ofmanaging diversity. Equality in the context
ofmanagingdiversitymeanstreatingeachperson’sneedswithan
equalamountofrespectandattention.
Implementing Diversity WilliamBrooks,formervice-presidentofcorporaterelations
atGeneralMotorsCorporation,saystheyfollowedasystematiccourse,mappingout
the company’s specificneeds and then striving to reach them throughmanagement
practices. “It’s a five-phaseprocess: one, identify thebusiness rationale for engaging
in a diversity effort and understand its principles; two, analyze the culture; three,
understandthebarriersandwhereyouwanttobe,anddevelopactionplanstoremove
thebarriers; four, implement actionplans to address thebarriers; and five, evaluate
progressandcontinuousimprovement.Intheshorttimethatwe’veinitiatedphaseone,
we’reshockedattheresults.It’sdoingexactlywhatwewantedittodo.Wecanseereal
progress.”
Other companies such as Chase Manhattan, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of
MassachusettsandPolaroidCorp.,concernedwithmaximizing thepotentialof their
alreadydiverseworkforce,investedinemployeeorganizationsthatmonitorcorporate
diversitypoliciesandworkwithcommunitygroups.NestleBeverageCo.conducteda
researchstudytohelpthemdesigntheirdiversityprogram,whichincludedinterviewing
28 employees chosen for their variety in age, ethnic background and equal gender
This spring the Firm established
the Baker Donelson Diversity
Scholarship Program, which will
award up to three scholarships
annually to diverse law school
students who have completed
theirfirstyearoflawschool.We
willawardeachrecipientasalaried
second year summer associate
position in one of the Firm’s
offices, and, after the completion
ofthesummerassociateposition,
a$10,000scholarshipduringthe
students’thirdyearoflawschool.
The first recipients of the
scholarshipandsummerassociate
opportunity are Shazi Jiang
(Vanderbilt School of Law) and
Staci Pierce (Cumberland School
ofLaw).
Wearecommittedtoensuringthat
bothourFirmandourprofession
are represented by attorneys
with a diversity of backgrounds.
Enhancing opportunities for
diverse law school students
is crucial to fulfilling that
commitment. This program not
onlyhelpsdiversestudentsdefray
the cost of law school, but also
offers them the opportunity to
acquirevaluableexperienceinthe
legal profession through a paid
summerassociateposition.
Diversity Scholarship Program Off to a Great Start
The Cost of Diversityby Pamela Carter
continued next page
$
Diversity Matters Fall 2008
3
representation.TheresearchhelpedNestle focus theireffort
onareasthatwouldmostbenefitthecompanyfinancially.
The “Bottom Line” Any organization – public or private sector – has to be
concernedwith“thebottomline,”althoughthedefinitionof
thatmayvary fromonetoanother.Thebenefitsofdiversity
must beweighed. Much of the attractiveness ofworkplace
diversitycomesfromtheimpactonthe“top-line”–increased
profitsthroughbettercustomerservice,openingnewmarkets
andsoon.Ofthestudiesdoneontheimpactofthebottom
line, one reports that “the favorable market reaction may
be a response to theprobability that such firmshavebetter
reputations with their diverse customers or more creative
cultures; or they may be better problem solvers or more
adaptabletoexternalenvironmentalchanges.”Resultsshow
thatcompanieswhohavebeenrecognizedfortheirdiversity
efforts(suchasWal-Mart,Pfizer,Glaxo,Motorola,Xeroxand
GeneralMills)experiencean increase in investmentreturns,
supportingtheconjecturethatbeingseenasa“goodcorporate
citizen”isalsoprofitable.
Leading By Example Diversitymustbebothachievedandmanagedeffectively
if its benefits are to be achieved. This requires leadership
commitment; the establishment of priorities and realistic
objectives; the assessment and development of policies
and practices to meet the particular diversity needs of
the organization, including accommodation needs; and the
provisionofmanagementandemployeetrainingandsupport
processes.
A diverse firm can only beginwith individualswho are
willingtoexaminetheirpersonalbeliefsandadoptchangesto
overcomevalue-baseddecisionsfoundedonlimitedexposure
towomenandminoritiesinfirmleadershiproles.Thechange
processrequiresustoworkwithineachcomponentofthefirm
todevelopacoordinatedandthoroughefforttoeffectchange.
It requires proactive advocacy, collaboration, and linkages
withgoalsandobjectivessupportedbyallstakeholders.The
resultwillbeanaturallydiverse firminwhich lawyers from
allbackgroundshaveaccess toopportunities, and thevalue
oftheirinclusionwillberealizedinfirmrevenuesandoverall
culture.
The Cost of Diversity, continued
BakerDonelson’sfallclassof25newassociatesincludes12womenandtwominorityassociates.ThisbringstheFirm’stotals
to178(or32%ofattorneysFirmwide)and38(or7%),respectively.BakerDonelsonremainscommittedtorecruiting,hiring,
training,retainingandinvitingtoShareholderstatusattorneysfromunder-representedgroups,andtheRecruitingCommittee
continuestoworkwithattorneysinourDiversityCommitteeandthroughouttheFirmtoexplorenewwaysofwideningour
fieldofcandidates.Onesuchwayisourminorityundergraduateoutreachprogram,whichisinitsbeginningstages.Lookfor
moreinformationaboutthisinitiativeinournextnewsletter.
New Associates Increase Women, Diversity Numbers
Whitney S. Bailey
Kimberly M. Bawgus
Shameak B. Belvitt
Not pictured:Paige J. Casey
Claire Cowart Haltom
Kristin C. Dunavant
Melissa J. Egan Mary Margaret Gossett
Cherie N. Knotts
Stacey C. MacKinnon
Jesse Mitchell III Jessica Hodge Shafer
Melissa W. Wibbens
Diversity Matters Fall 2008
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BakerDonelsonispleasedtoannouncetheadditionofseveralexperiencedattorneys
totheFirm’sattorneyrosterduringthepastfewmonths.
Julie Chinn is of counsel in the Memphis office in the bankruptcy
group, concentrating on creditors’ rights and commercial litigation.
Her experience includes representing major finance companies and
banksinbankruptcycourtproceedings.Ms.Chinnpreviouslyservedas
AssistantU.S.TrusteefortheWesternDistrictofTennessee.
Laurie D. Clark is of counsel in theNewOrleans office in business
litigation,withanemphasisonemploymentandtransportationmatters.
Ms.Clarkhasexperiencerepresentingclientsingenerallitigationattrial
andappellatelevelsinstateandfederalcourt.
Floyd D. GainesisashareholderintheBirminghamoffice,concentrating
on class actions, product liability, employment law, education law,
insurancelawandgenerallitigation.HehasservedasaDeputyAttorney
General for the State of Alabama and has litigated cases in virtually
every county in Alabama and in each of the three Alabama Federal
DistrictCourts,aswellaslitigatedcasesintheGeorgiaandMississippi
state courts and participated in numerous oral arguments before the
EleventhCircuitCourtofAppeals.
Katie Dysart is an associate in the Firm’s New Orleans office with
extensiveexperienceininsurancecoverageandinsurancedefense.She
has represented and handled all aspects of lawsuits for insurers and
served as local counsel for out-of-state firms in relation toHurricane
KatrinaandRitaclaims,aswellasotherfirst-partypropertymatters.
Bruce A. McMullen is a shareholder in the Memphis office with
experience in the areas of insurance coverage and bad faith actions,
medical malpractice defense, products liability defense, municipal law and class
actiondefense.Hehastriedmorethan20jurytrialsinstateandfederalcourtsin
Individual Baker Donelson
officeshavebeeninvolvedwiththe
SusanG.KomenRacefortheCure
forsometimenow,butinthepast
two years theWomen’s Initiative
hasspearheadedacohesiveeffort
to take that involvement to the
next level. One of the primary
reasonswastohonorthememory
of the Firm’s Recruiting Director
SuePorter,wholostahard-fought
battlewithbreastcancer in2007.
Toward that end, the Firm now
encouragesallofficeswherethere
are races to field a team and
involve clients where appropri-
ate. Among the big success sto-
ries is theMemphis office,where
Baker Donelson attorneys staged
apancakebreakfasttoraiseaware-
ness (andmoney) for theKomen
cause. Now in its10thyear, this
year’s breakfast was bigger and
better thanever. InBirmingham,
Baker’s local coordinators recruit-
edmorethan90teamparticipants
who raisedmore than$8,000 for
“TeamCure-inacci,”sonamedfor
theoffice’smanagingshareholder,
Tim Lupinacci. Nashville partici-
pants raised more than $2,600
for theirCounselors for theCure
team.Teamswillalsohittheroad
thisfallinChattanooga,Knoxville,
NewOrleansandJohnsonCity.
Julie Chinn
Baker Donelson and the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure
To Find the Cure...We Serve.
TheBatonRougeofficeofBakerDonelsonwilltakeitsWomen’sInitiativeeffort
to the next level when it relocates to a new building early next year. The office
plans todebut a newWomen’sResourceCenter dedicated to thepromotion and
advancementofwomen.TheCenterwillhousepublicationsandstatisticsfocused
onwomen’sgrowthanddevelopmentinthebusinessandlegalcommunities,aswell
asshowcasingaccomplishmentsofsuccessfulwomenleaders.Inconjunctionwith
the opening of the newoffice, the Firmwill host an openhouse andnetworking
socialtospotlightthenewWomen’sResourceCenterasanimportantfoundationto
furthertheFirm’seffortsintheadvancementofwomen.
New Baton Rouge Office to Feature Women’s Resource Center
Welcoming New Attorneys
Laurie D. Clark
Floyd D. Gaines
Katie Dysart
Bruce A. McMullen
continued next page
Diversity Matters Fall 2008
5
TennesseeandArkansasandhasauthoredandarguedappeal
briefstotheTennesseeCourtofAppeals.
Hannah MetzgerisanassociateintheNashville
officeandamemberof theHealthLawGroup.
She has served as Senior Commentary Editor
for Transactions: Tennessee Journal of Business Law and was a coordinator for the University
of Tennessee Pro Bono Health Care Advocacy
Project.
Megan OuztsisanassociateintheAtlantaoffice
with experience representing clients in a wide
rangeofemploymentlawmatters.Shecounsels
companies on employment law compliance
and litigation avoidance, including drafting
and implementing employment policies and
procedures, designing release agreements and
providingon-siteEEOtraining.
Lori Patterson is of counsel in the Memphis
officewithextensiveexperienceincomplexlitigation,appellate
work, securities litigation, civil and criminal defense, civil
rightsandgovernmentalentitydefense.
Catherine Thigpen is an associate in the Firm’s NewOrleans
officewith experience in insurance coverage and litigation. She
hascounseledunderwritersandinsurancecompaniesoncoverage
issuesarisingoutofawiderangeofclaims includingLouisiana
legacylawsuits,health-hazardandothercomplexenvironmental
matters, as well as issues involving insured and
additionalinsuredstatusandgeneralclaimshandling
issuesunderthird-partyandfirst-partypolicies.
Elisabeth QuinnisofcounselintheBatonRouge
officedefendingnationalcompaniesinpremiseand
products liability, toxic tort, occupational disease
andclassactionclaims.Shehasextensiveexperience
defending national, regional and local banking
institutionsincommerciallitigationmatters.
Stacie S. Winkler is anassociate in theMemphis
office,withbroadexperienceinanumberoflitigation
matters including class action defense, bad faith
litigation, medical malpractice defense, personal
injurylitigation,insurancelaw,estateplanningand
probate law, products liability andmunicipal law.
Ms.Winklerhassignificantjurytrialexperienceand
representsclientsatallstagesof litigationincases
filedinbothfederalandstatecourtsinTennesseeandArkansas.
Welcoming New Attorneys, continued
Hannah Metzger
Megan Ouzts
Lori Patterson
Catherine Thigpen
Elisabeth Quinn
AnumberofwomenandminorityattorneysfromBakerDonelsonwererecentlyselected
forinclusioninThe Best Lawyers in America®2009(copyright2008byWoodward/White,Inc.
ofAiken,SC),awell-respectedattorneylistingthatiswidelyregardedasadefinitiveguideto
legalexcellence.BecauseBestLawyersisbasedonanexhaustivepeer-reviewsurveyinwhich
morethan25,000leadingattorneyscastalmosttwomillionvotesonthelegalabilitiesofother
lawyersintheirspecialties,andbecauselawyersarenotrequiredorallowedtopayafeetobe
listed,inclusioninBestLawyersisconsideredasingularhonor.
Of the 156 Baker Donelson attorneys selected for inclusion, 35 female and minority
attorneyswerechosen:AllisaJ.Allison;BettyAnderson;LaurenW.Anderson,MaryL.Aronov,
L.MabelArroyo,GerardoR.Barrios,LindaM.Crouch-McCreadie,NancyScottDegan,Barry
W.Ford,DonnaD.Fraiche,DesireeM.Franklin,TonyaM.Grindon,FrankS. James,Valerie
WalshJohnson,JenniferP.Keller,DeniseW.Killebrew,LindaM.Klein,AmeliaWilliamsKoch,
VirginiaC.Love,AnneB.Mathes,BruceA.McMullen,AnneW.Mitchell,MaryLeAnnMynatt,
CarlaPeacher-Ryan,JackieG.Prester,SusanElliottRich,ClarenceRisin,FernH.Singer,Louann
P.Smith,JillM.Steinberg,KelliL.Thompson,DanielleL.Trostorff,SusanS.Wagner,JonellB.
WilliamsonandAnneDerbesWittmann.
Baker Donelson Attorneys Selected for Best Lawyers Honor
Best Lawyers
in America®
Stacie Winkler
Diversity Matters Fall 2008
6
Pamela Carter(New
Orleans)hasbeen
appointedChairof
theDefenseResearch
Institute’s(DRI)
PublicationsCommittee.
Priortoherappoint-
ment,shehasbeenamemberofDRI’s
DiversityCommitteeandDiversity
SeminarSteeringCommitteeandhas
servedasChairandCommitteemem-
berofDRI’sannualDiversitySeminar
programssinceinceptionin2006.
Nancy Scott Degan
(NewOrleans)hasbeen
appointedManaging
DirectoroftheAmerican
BarAssociationSection
ofLitigation.With
approximately75,000
membersnationallyandinternation-
ally,theSectionofLitigationisthe
largestsectionoftheAmericanBar
Association.
Inaddition,Nancywillbehonored
byNewOrleansCitiBusinessasoneof
itsWomen of the Yearatitsannualrec-ognitioneventinNovember.
Sheri A. Fox
(Chattanooga)and
Yanika C. Smith-
Bartley (Nashville)com-
pletedtheTennessee
BarAssociation’s
LeadershipLawpro-
gramattheTennessee
BarAssociation’s
annualconventionin
Gatlinburg.
Donna Fraiche(New
Orleans)washonoredatanofficial
receptioninNew
Orleanshostedby
theConsularOffice
ofJapan.Shewas
appointedashonor-
aryconsulgeneralof
JapanonApril1bythe
JapanMinistryofForeignAffairs“to
preserveandfurtherstrengthenthe
goodrelationshipbetweenJapanand
Louisiana.”Inaddition,sheopenedthe
JapanFesteventattheNewOrleans
MuseumofArtonOctober18.
Ms.Fraichehasalsoacceptedinvi-
tationstoserveontheboardsofThe
ProBonoProject,LouisianaBluePrint
andLouisianaAppleseed.
TheAlabamaAssociationof
Paralegals,Inc.electedAngelle
Garcia(Birmingham)toserveasthe
RegionIDirectorforthe2008-2009
term.Inaddition,Kimberly Herrin
(Birmingham)wasappointedtoserve
astheCLACoordinator,andLynn
Evans(Birmingham)wasappointedto
serveastheHistorian.
Charles K. Grant(Nashville)was
includedintheNashville Business JournalBestoftheBar2008list-
ing.Recipientswere
selectedbasedonnum-
berofvotesfromother
Nashvilleattorneysand
werehonoredAugust21atarecep-
tion,inadditiontobeingprofiledin
anAugust22Nashville Business Journalspecialsection.
Jennifer G. Hall
(Jackson)hasbeen
selectedforthe2008-09Classof
LeadershipGreaterJacksonprogram.
Frank S. James
(Birmingham)was
electedtotheBoardof
DirectorsoftheBoard
ofPensionsofthe
PresbyterianChurch.
Linda A. Klein(Atlanta)
servedaschairofthe
ABACommitteeon
Rules&Calendar,
whichcreatesthe
agendaandmanages
thedebateofresolution
beforetheABAHouseofDelegates.
Shealsointroducedaprogramon
DomesticViolenceissuesandserved
aschairoftheCoalitionforJustice.
Emily Landry
(Memphis)hasbeen
appointedChairofthe
DRIYLC’sLegislative
LiaisonSubcommittee.
Inaddition,sherecently
graduatedfromthe
LeadershipAcademyFellowsprogram.
This12-monthprogramprovidesinno-
vativetoolstoempowerindividuals
recognizedashigh-potentialleadersby
guidingparticipantsthroughthepro-
cessoffinding,focusingandenacting
theirpassionforthecommunity.
Ashley Meredith
Lowe(Knoxville)
hasbeenappointed
totheTennesseeBar
Association’sExecutive
Councilforthe
EnvironmentalSection.
Achievements
Pam Carter
Nancy Scott Degan
Sheri Fox
Yanika Smith-Bartley
Donna Fraiche
Charles Grant
Jennifer Hall
Frank James
Linda Klein
Emily Landry
Ashley Lowe
continued next page
Diversity Matters Fall 2008
7
Stephanie M. Rippee
(Jackson)hasbeen
selectedforinclusionin
theMississippi Business Journal’sannuallistofMississippi’sLeading
BusinessWomen.Ms.
Rippeewasfeaturedinaspecialedi-
tionofthepublication
inSeptember.
Fern H. Singer
(Birmingham)was
namedoneofthe
Birmingham Business Journal’sTopBirminghamWomenof2008.
Sara M. Turner
(Birmingham)has
beennamedvicechair
ofDRI’sTechnology
Committee.
OnJune13,Nancy A.
Vincent(Nashville)
waspresentedwitha
President’sAwardfrom
outgoingTennesseeBar
AssociationPresidentMarciaEason,for
herworkaschairoftheTBATaskforce
onRacialDiversity.
Gretchen Zmitrovich
(Jackson)wasappoint-
edtotheexecutivecom-
mitteeoftheMississippi
BarAssociation’s
SectiononNatural
Resources,Energyand
EnvironmentalLaw.
Achievements, continued
Stephanie Rippee
Fern Singer
Sara Turner
Nancy Vincent
Gretchen Zmitrovich
BakerDonelsonhelditssecondMinority Attorney Retreatin
NewOrleansthisMay.Overtwodays,morethan30attendees
heldfrankdiscussionsonthecurrentstatusofminorities in
thelegalfield,tacklingsubjectssuchasrecruitment,retention,
mentoring,clientdemandsandclientdevelopment.Members
committedthemselvestoseveralinitiatives,andlefttheretreat
energizedanddedicatedtoworkingtowardchange.
OnMay 29 the Birmingham office hosted a luncheonwith
thetheme“Reflections Towards the Future.”Thisluncheon
was planned as continued contemplation and discussion
on the 40th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s
death.SpeakersincludedOdessaWoolfolkandDr.Lawrence
Pijeaux of the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, and Rev.
GeraldAustin,whowasprofiledintheBirminghamnewsas
apersonwhohastaken
the legacyofDr.King’s
work and put it into
practical application to
help individuals move
from dependency to
true economic self-
sufficiency. Inaddition,
theofficerecognizedthe2008BakerDonelsonBCRIinterns:
Gary A. Crosby II, Melinda Marie Thornton and Kendall
RutledgeChew.
On May 30, the
Women’s Initiative
welcomed the United
States Ambassador
from Liechtenstein,
Claudia Fritsche, as
the guest of honor at
the regular Firm-wide
gathering of theWomen’s Initiative groups from all offices.
The Ambassador spoke about her fascinating career as a
diplomat from a country which didn’t grant women the
righttovoteuntil1984.Approximately120BakerDonelson
attorneys,summerassociates,paralegalsandguestsattended
thegatheringbyvideoconferencefromourofficesacrossthe
company.AlsoinattendancewastheAmbassadorfromOman,
Hunaina Al-Mughairy. The connection with Ambassador
FritschewasfacilitatedbySherylBey(Jackson).
The members of the Chattanooga Women’s Initiative
participated in the
Women Build project
for Habitat for
Humanity in June.
Fourteen volunteers
from the Chattanooga
office, including
Activities
continued next page
Diversity Matters Fall 2008
8
attorneys,staffandfamilymembers,donnedt-shirtsandhard
hatsspeciallydesignedfortheevent,lacedontheirtoolbelts,
andspentthedayinstallingexteriorinsulationonthehouse
and sealing areas around windows and doors. Latrice Kirk
joined the Baker Donelson volunteers in working on what
wouldbehometoherandhertwo-year-oldson,Joshua.
Around25 clients, prospects andBakerDonelson attorneys
attended the “Street Savvy” event, hosted in June by the
Firm’s New Orleans
Women’s Initiative.
The self-defense
demonstration and
networking gathering
was held at The Savvy
Gourmet and featured
two members of the
NewOrleansPoliceDepartmentSWATteam,whoprovided
informativeandpracticaltipsforstayingsafeandevenshowed
participants how to properly taze a “perp”! A networking
reception followed.Erin Pelleteri, Debra Yates, Lori Hook
and Gina Farago(allofNewOrleans)plannedandexecuted
theevent.
TheNashville Women’s
Initiative hosted its
secondannualTaste of
Fine Wines at Acorn
Restaurant on June 26.
Representatives from
severalclientcompanies
aswellasotherwomen
businessownersjoinedBakerDonelsonattorneysinsampling
winesfromwinerieswhichareownedorfoundedbywomen.
The Memphis office sponsored the Mid-South Minority
Economic Development Fair August 26 – 28. The event
is coordinatedbyMid-SouthMinorityBusinessCouncil, the
Memphis area’s foremost minority business development
organization. Attorneys Beverly Gates, Buck Lewis, Rob
Liddon, Ed Young, Imad Abdullah, Lodie Biggs, Betty
Campbell, Valerie Johnson, Anne Mathes, Stacie Winkler,
Lewis Donelson and Charles Hamlett attended various
eventsalongsideseveralclients.
TheChattanooga Women’s InitiativehosteditsfirstTaste of
Fine WineswinetastingandnetworkingeventonSeptember
18at212MarketRestaurant.Thethirty-plusguestsincluded
women from several client companies and other women
professionals and business owners. The goal of the event
was to solidify relationshipswith existing clients and build
relationships with other women business leaders in the
community. Thefeaturedwineshighlightedthepresenceof
womeninthewineindustry,rangingfromwomenoperators
of the first nationally distributedwine inChina, to the first
femalewinemakerinSouthAfrica.
The Nashville office sponsored the 26th annual Minority
Enterprise Development Week, a national celebration in
recognitionofthecontributionsmadebyminoritybusinesses
to the nation’s economy. Attorneys Mark Baugh, Nancy
Vincent, Sameak Belvitt and Nicole James attended the
MEDWeekGalaonSunday,October12aboard theGeneral
Jacksonshowboat,alongwithseveralclients.
SeveralNashvilleattorneysandstaffmembersparticipatedin
Habitat for Humanity’s Women Build project inLebanon,
TennesseeonOctober11.
Callaway Bain,Memphis’headoffice
clerk and pastor of Mt. Olive Baptist
Church, earned his Master’s Degree
in Theology from Tennessee School
ofReligiononMay16.TheMemphis
officehonoredCallawayandhisfamily
withareceptiononOctober15.
The Rules of Professional Conduct of the various states where our offices are located require the following language: THIS IS AN ADVERTISEMENT. Ben Adams, CEO and Chairman of the Firm, maintains an office at 165 Madison Avenue, Suite 2000, Memphis, Tennessee 38103, 901.526.2000. No representation is made that the quality of the legal services to be performed is greater than the quality of legal services performed by other lawyers. FREE BACKGROUND INFORMATION AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST. ©2008 Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC
Activities, continued