San Diego – February 26, 2024 – The Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD) has welcomed Cooley partner Carlos Ramirez as a member of its Fellows Program, and Cooley associates Colette Ghazarian and Dennis Craig as members of its Pathfinders Program.
Ramirez is a corporate and securities lawyer who focuses on public company representation and capital markets transactions in Cooley's San Diego office. He was previously part of LCLD's Pathfinders Program in 2017. Ghazarian is based in the firm's Los Angeles office and focuses her practice on trademark and copyright litigation and trademark prosecution, clearance, enforcement and counseling. Craig serves as a trusted adviser tohigh-growth companies and their investors – from formation to exit – and is based in the firm's Washington, DC, office.
"We are thrilled to express our support for our most recent LCLD program participants. Their participation in these programs reflects our unwavering commitment to DEI at Cooley," said Rachel Proffitt, Cooley's CEO. "By fostering a culture that values excellence, entrepreneurship, collaboration and creativity, we create an environment where everyone feels included, valued and empowered to contribute their unique perspectives. Our partnership with LCLD further strengthens our dedication to promoting diversity and inclusion in the legal industry."
This is the 11th year that Cooley has participated in LCLD's programs. The Pathfinders Program connects high-potential, early-career lawyers of diverse backgrounds and perspectives from LCLD member organizations with foundational leadership skills and relationship-building resources during a seven-month professional development program. The Fellows Program prepares high-potential, mid-career lawyers of diverse backgrounds and perspectives at LCLD member organizations with professional and personal development opportunities, leadership training, relationship-building resources and access to LCLD members (including managing partners and general counsel).
Founded in 2009, LCLD is made up of more than 400 corporate chief legal officers and law firm managing partners seeking to build a legal profession as diverse and dynamic as the country it serves.
Cooley is dedicated to maintaining a workplace that values and celebrates differences. The firm is widely recognized for its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts by leading industry organizations and publications – including earning a score of 100 on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation's Corporate Equality Index for the seventh time, being named to Seramount's Best Law Firms for Women and Diversity for the 12th time, being honored with the Women in Law Empowerment Forum's US Gold Standard certification for the 12th consecutive year, and consistently achieving Diversity Lab's Mansfield Rule Certification status.
To learn more about Cooley's DEI efforts, please visit the firm's DEI webpage.