WASHINGTON, D.C.—Connecting with clients and industry leaders was a focal point of Womble Bond Dickinson’s sponsorship of the Association of Corporate Counsel 2017 Annual Meeting. This year, for the first time, Womble also sponsored the ACC Foundation’s Women in the House (WITH) breakfast. Participants enjoyed networking with peers, and learned valuable insights from veteran in-house attorneys with a fireside chat on the strengths that women bring to the workplace and how to leverage them to succeed in top, in-house leadership roles.
Womble Bond Dickinson lawyer Cathy Hinger, the leader of the firm’s Women of Womble program, led the fireside chat, which featured the following women general counsel:
- Carol DiBattiste, General Counsel, Chief Privacy Officer and Chief People Officer, comScore;
- Sara Hall, Chief Legal Officer, ALSAC (St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital’s Fundraising Arm);
- Anh Le Kremer, General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer, Center for Diagnostic Imaging; and
- Leslie Thornton, Senior Vice President, General Counsel & Secretary, WGL Holdings, Inc. & Washington Gas.
The panelists shared personal stories of their different paths to success, and emphasized the importance of taking risks, caring for those around you, listening to the advice of personal constituents, and always preserving integrity.
Womble Bond Dickinson attorneys Lisa Bondurant, Victoria Bruno, Rebecca Jacobs Goldman, Sonny Haynes and Ana Jara also attended the WITH Initiative Breakfast.
Cathy Hinger represents companies in business disputes involving residential and commercial real estate development projects, commercial leasing, multifamily housing, airport retail and concession development, employment discrimination, commercial contracts, business fraud, manufacturing, distribution and franchise, supply chain interruption and gaming regulation. Hinger also has defended clients charged with white collar crimes and has litigated cases involving premises liability, severe property damage, catastrophic injuries, aviation disasters and wrongful death.
With 15 years of experience litigating a broad range of complex business disputes, Victoria Bruno is known for being a responsive, organized and tenacious advocate for her clients. She has handled every stage of civil litigation through trial and appeal in state and federal court around the country, and regularly counsels clients on issues involving reputation management and corporate social responsibility.
Lisa Bondurant’s practice is concentrated in life insurance and financial services litigation, including ERISA. For more than twenty years, Lisa has been lead counsel on a variety of cases involving complex insurance issues, ERISA, RICO, life, health, disability, and accidental death benefits, broker, producer and agent disputes and managed care litigation.
Rebecca Jacobs Goldman has a comprehensive communications law practice, guiding clients in media law, Internet, telecom, cable and privacy/data protection matters. She counsels communications industry clients in negotiating contracts and complex business transactions, as well as helping them resolve disputes and regulatory challenges.
Sonny Haynes has a broad range of litigation experience from complaint to verdict and on appeal. She regularly defends lawsuits involving product liability, civil rights, governmental torts, and employment discrimination.
Ana Jara’s practice focuses on construction defect litigation, contentious land use and development disputes, trade secret and unfair competition liability, executive employment matters, and state and federal agency investigations. She has argued cases in federal and state tribunals and has experience taking and defending depositions and interviewing civilian and law enforcement witnesses.