Earns 2023 Top Performer and Compass Awards from the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity
Frost Brown Todd (FBT) has been named a Top Performer and Compass Award winner by the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (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 earned these two honors every year LCLD has awarded them.
The Top Performer award acknowledges organizations that are in the top 20% for participation in LCLD programs and activities. This includes its two signature leadership development programs, LCLD Fellows and Pathfinders. Both programs are highly selective, national in scope, and designed to help advance the careers of attorneys from underrepresented groups, while preparing them to take on evolving leadership roles within their organizations and the community at large.
FBT has sponsored attorneys to participate in the LCLD Fellows and Pathfinders programs for more than a decade, and former participants have gone on to serve in key leadership roles at the firm. In 2023, FBT attorney Michelle Xu was named an LCLD fellow, and FBT attorneys Kristen Cody and Maria Kroeger were selected as LCLD pathfinders.
Additionally, FBT attorneys have been heavily involved at the local level in LCLD’s Success in Law School Mentoring Program, often serving as city leads in various markets across the firm’s footprint. The Compass Award highlights such involvement and the impact it continues to have on generations of students entering the legal profession. Of note, FBT is now in its 13th year of being a part of LCLD’s mentoring programs, and more than 400 FBT attorneys have signed up over the years to mentor historically underrepresented law students, helping them to prepare for the legal field.
FBT attorneys currently oversee LCLD’s mentoring programs in Columbus and Louisville, where the number of participants and networking activities has seen a significant uptick in recent years.
“It has been exciting to see Frost Brown Todd’s participation in various LCLD programs evolve over the past 10 years,” said FBT Partner Sara Abner, who is the city lead in Louisville for LCLD’s Success in Law School Mentoring Program. “Locally, we’ve grown from a small, one-on-one mentoring initiative to a nationally recognized program involving a yearly kick-off at the Brandeis School of Law, followed by a series of group events made available to participants throughout the country. It continues to be extremely rewarding to observe the impact on the students who have participated, as many are now successful practicing attorneys.”
FBT is among 73 member organizations that earned both designations in 2023. Click here to read about LCLD’s awards and view the full list of winners. You can also learn more about FBT’s commitments and actions to advance inclusion, diversity, equity, and belonging.
About LCLD
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.