Stinson Attorneys Accepted to the LCLD Fellows, Pathfinders Programs

01.30.2020

Stinson LLP is pleased to announce that Partner Samir Mehta was selected as a 2020 Fellow by the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD), and attorneys Lariss Maldonado and Aalok Sharma have been selected for the Pathfinders program. 

Mehta’s one-year fellowship provides extensive guidance on the fine points of legal practice through peer-group projects to foster collaboration and build relationships, and extensive contact with LCLD’s top leadership and affiliated managing partners and general counsel.

Maldonado and Sharma were selected for the Pathfinders program, designed to equip diverse, high-potential, early-career attorneys with tools to develop and leverage professional networks through relationship building, leadership training and career development. 

"We are thrilled for this year’s group of Stinson participants. This is a rare opportunity to work with and learn from a select group of attorneys from diverse backgrounds who have been recognized for their potential as leaders in their organizations. We know Samir, Lariss and Aalok will grow and thrive in their programs," said Ann Jenrette-Thomas, Stinson's chief diversity & inclusion officer.

A lifelong technophile with years of experience in the Silicon Valley software industry, Mehta combines industry knowledge and legal experience in his representations of high technology IP clients in litigation. In addition to crafting litigation strategies, he also helps clients strategically identify and protect significant intellectual property assets. Mehta prosecutes and defends claims of patent, copyright and trademark infringement and trade secret misappropriation for individuals and private and public companies involving a wide array of technologies. He frequently represents companies in Inter Partes Review before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Mehta is a member of the Executive Committee and Board of the South Asian Bar Association (SABA), and a past president and founder of the St. Louis Chapter of SABA.

Maldonado is an experienced litigator, having represented clients in state and federal court across the country. Her practice focuses on complex litigation and investigation work for large corporate clients across a range of highly regulated industries. Before joining Stinson, she worked as an associate general counsel at a Fortune 5 company, where she supported the Special Investigations Unit on Fraud, Waste, and Abuse cases. She serves on the Diversity and Inclusion Council for the Minnesota State Bar Association and is the secretary of the Board of the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota. 

Named by the American Bar Association (ABA) as a Leading Entertainment and Sports Lawyer of the Next Generation, Sharma is trusted by sports businesses and technology companies to provide counsel in matters relating to the future of sports, including fan engagement, esports, data analytics, legalized sports wagering and integrity. He is frequently involved in bet-the-company litigation, and has significant experience in business, construction and products liability litigation. Sharma serves on the board of directors of the Minnesota Twins Baseball Club Community Fund and is active in the ABA’s Forum on Sports & Entertainment, and the Sports Lawyers Association.

LCLD is an organization of more than 300 general counsel of major corporations or managing partners of the nation's leading law firms who have dedicated themselves to creating a truly diverse U.S. legal profession.