Three attorneys from Frost Brown Todd (FBT) have secured spots in the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity’s (LCLD) signature professional development programs. Cincinnati Partner Ryan Goellner was selected to LCLD’s Fellows Program, which is geared toward high-potential attorneys who have been practicing for eight to 15 years and have experience serving in a leadership capacity. Cincinnati Associate Yuning Tian and Dallas Associate Asia Wright will represent FBT in LCLD’s Pathfinders Program for early-career attorneys who have already demonstrated exceptional promise.
Both LCLD programs are highly selective, national in scope, and designed to equip participants with the foundational skills necessary to take on evolving leadership roles within their organizations as well as the community at large. The Fellows Program represents a year-long commitment consisting of executive coaching, leadership training, and mentoring support from prominent leaders from law firms and legal departments. Similarly, LCLD Pathfinders take part in training exercises and courses focused on career and leadership development strategies, such as leveraging one’s professional network to develop business.
2024 Fellow and Pathfinders
All three FBT attorneys selected in 2024 bring a different lens and set of qualifications to the LCLD program experience. A member of FBT’s business litigation and appellate teams, Goellner has extensive experience representing clients in government contracting and construction disputes, trade secret litigation, and First Amendment cases, including the successful defense of several media conglomerates in a high-profile, multimillion-dollar defamation case. He has also achieved significant appellate victories before the Ninth Circuit and the Supreme Court of Ohio. At FBT, Goellner is a member of the Inclusion, Diversity, Equity & Belonging (IDEB) Committee, where he chairs the Retention, Development, and Advancement subcommittee, and leads the firm’s LGBTQ+ affinity group, Pride@FBT.
Tian is part of FBT’s commercial finance and real estate practices, focusing primarily on matters concerning multifamily housing, affordable housing, historic preservation, and tax credit transactions. She earned her J.D. from the Indiana University Maurer School of Law, and while in law school, served on the executive board of the Asian Pacific American Law Student Association.
Wright is a corporate transactional attorney and a graduate of the Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law, where she served as president of the Black Law Student Association. She has an accounting background and experience from working as an auditor at Deloitte prior to practicing law. Wright is also a proud member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.
Proud to Partner with LCLD
Since 2012, more than 20 FBT attorneys have completed either the LCLD Fellows or Pathfinders programs. Many of these program alums now serve in leadership positions, including a member of FBT’s Executive Committee and the current co-chair of the firm’s 16-member IDEB Committee.
In addition to sponsoring attorneys to participate in LCLD programs, FBT has been named a Top Performer and Compass Award winner by the LCLD for being one of the most active firms in its support of LCLD’s mission to foster a more equitable and inclusive legal profession. FBT has likewise been heavily involved at the local level in LCLD’s Success in Law School Mentoring Program, with more than 400 attorneys to date who have signed on to mentor historically underrepresented law students.
“Frost Brown Todd joined LCLD over a decade ago, and the impact this has had on both our firm and our future leaders cannot be overstated,” said FBT IDEB Manager Danielle Anderson, who handles the firm’s outreach with LCLD and is closely involved in the selection process for both programs. “Not only do we value the guidance and support network that LCLD provides to attorneys from underrepresented backgrounds, but we also view the LCLD as a partner in helping us help the next generation of diverse leaders in law reach their fullest potential.”
For more details on FBT’s commitment and actions in support of inclusion, diversity, equity, and belonging, visit our IDEB page.
About Leadership Council on Legal Diversity
Founded in 2009, LCLD comprises more than 450 corporate chief legal officers and law firm managing partners who are committed to ensuring that all talent thrives, with the ultimate goal of building a more equitable and diverse legal profession. The Fellows Program, one of LCLD’s most important initiatives, has trained more than a thousand mid-career attorneys since 2011. The Pathfinder Program, which targets junior associates and the youngest members of corporate law departments, was piloted in 2015 among a selected number of LCLD member law firms and corporations.
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