Traci Bransford Selected as Stinson's 2023 D&I Champion

06.13.2023

Stinson LLP Partner Traci Bransford has been selected as the firm's 2023 Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) Champion Award recipient.

The annual award, selected by the firm's Diversity Committee Co-Chairs Pat Konopka and Shane Swanson, recognizes an individual who has exemplified a strong commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion through a prolonged dedication of sustained action that has benefited the firm and the legal profession.

"We are incredibly grateful for Traci's steadfast commitment to advancing diversity and inclusion at the firm and in the broader community," Stinson's Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer Ann Jenrette-Thomas said. "She truly uplifts her peers in the legal community and has made an extensive impact in the D&I space both locally and nationally."

Bransford's passionate and devoted impact to advancing the firm's diversity and inclusion efforts is most noted in her role with the Attorneys of Color Employee Resource Group (ERG). As one of the inaugural co-chairs of the ERG, she has worked to ensure that attorneys of color are able to succeed in their practice while simultaneously working in a welcoming and inclusive space. She has a unique perspective on the challenges attorneys of color face, and she makes it her mission to attract and retain diverse attorneys. She has helped increase the number of diverse attorneys at the firm and the retention rate of diverse attorneys to 88%. She is a mentor to several attorneys within the firm, the Minneapolis/St. Paul legal community and across the country.

Bransford also dedicates a significant amount of time to advancing diversity and inclusion within the community and the legal profession. She serves as an advisory board member for the Thomson Reuters Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Advisory Board, which aims to create a digital space that offers career guidance and addresses structural barriers and cultural change needed for underrepresented attorneys and accountants to succeed. She is also a regular contributor to articles published by the Legal Executive Institute, offering practical tools for attorneys of color to successfully navigate big law firm practices.

Bransford is an active member of the National Bar Association and serves on the Executive Committee of the Commercial Law Section where she has worked with the Section's Community Service Committee to provide financial assistance opportunities through essay writing competitions for minority law school students. She also facilitates and encourages minorities to enter the legal profession by assisting minority students to meet the challenges and financial burdens of law school through her work with the Black Lawyers Matter Internship Program. Bransford also works with the Corporate Law Section by reviewing scholarship applications of college and law school students for the Gateway to Success annual student scholarships. She is also a supporter and active participant of the Minority Corporate Counsel Association and the Black Entertainment & Sports Lawyers Association.

In recognition for all that she has done within the legal profession, Bransford has most recently been honored by Minnesota Lawyer with the 2019 Diversity & Inclusion Award, by Chambers with the 2020 Diversity & Inclusion Award Short List – "Diversity & Inclusion Lawyer of the Year" – and by Twin Cities Business Magazine as a 2020 "Notable Women in Law" recipient. She was also recognized with the 2022 VocalEssence Reatha Clark King Award for Excellence and Youth Motivation through the Cultural Arts.

Bransford combines her deep understanding of client needs with a strong commitment to the tenets of diversity and inclusion, and offers comprehensive solutions to key legal challenges to benefit the firm and its clients. In addition to serving as general counsel to her entertainment and sports law clients, Bransford serves as outside general counsel to clients in health care, retail apparel and education industries. She is a member of Stinson's Intellectual Property & Technology Practice Division, is co-chair of the firm's Entertainment and Media Law practice group, and a member of the Sports & Recreation practice group.