Overview
Steptoe & Johnson LLP partner Brigida Benitez has joined the 2016 “Fellows Program” class for the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD). As a fellow, Ms. Benitez will participate in a landmark program created to identify, train, and advance the next generation of leaders in the legal profession. Ms. Benitez joins a select group of experienced attorneys from diverse backgrounds who have been recognized for their potential as leaders in their organizations. Previous LCLD fellows from Steptoe include partners Michelle Levin and Kendall Enyard.
Founded in 2009, LCLD is a growing organization of more than 240 corporate chief legal officers and law firm managing partners who are personally committed to creating a truly diverse legal profession. The LCLD Fellows Program, which has trained more than 800 mid-career attorneys since 2011, is one of LCLD’s most important initiatives.
According to LCLD President Robert J. Grey, Jr., the LCLD Fellows Program offers participants “an extraordinarily rich year of relationship-building, in-person training, peer-group projects, and extensive contact with LCLD’s top leadership.”
At Steptoe, Ms. Benitez focuses on complex business litigation, anti-corruption and compliance matters, and internal investigations. Recognized for her accomplishments in civil litigation defense, Ms. Benitez draws on more than 20 years of experience representing clients in high-stakes, complex litigation and arbitration matters, along with a deep understanding of the multijurisdictional investigative process, to help companies and individuals assess and mitigate reputational and litigation risk. She has litigated cases in federal and state trial and appellate courts throughout the country, including the Supreme Court. She also has served as chief of the Office of Institutional Integrity of the Inter-American Development Bank.
Ms. Benitez is an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center, where she teaches a course on international business litigation and federal practice. She serves as vice-chair of the International Business Law Committee of the ABA Business Law Section and on the ABA Commission for Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Profession.
A graduate of Boston College Law School and the University of Florida, Ms. Benitez has received numerous awards and honors including being named Hispanic Business magazine’s “Woman of the Year” and one of the “100 Most Influential US Hispanics.” She has been named “Latina Lawyer of the Year” by the Hispanic National Bar Association, and was recognized as a “Star of the Bar” by the Women’s Bar Association of DC.
For more information, visit www.lcldnet.org.
