Nolan Atkinson, Jr., Partner at Duane Morris LLP receives the 2004 Rainbowmaker Award from MCCA Executive Director Veta Richardson
MAY 28 - A lawyer from Duane Morris LLP, one of the nation's 100 largest law firms, has been granted a rare honor by the national Minority Corporate Counsel Association (MCCA). Nolan N. Atkinson, chair of the firm's Commercial Litigation Practice Group and a recognized innovator in diversity programs, will be honored with the MCCA's rarely bestowed "Rainbowmaker Award" on June 16 in Washington, D.C.
According to the MCCA, "The Rainbowmaker Award was created by MCCA to recognize an exceptional lawyer whose advocacy in support of a more diverse legal profession has made the recipient a very special 'rainmaker,' one who has created rainbows of opportunity for future generations of lawyers. Presented only upon recommendation of the MCCA Board of Directors, the award is not often bestowed, and is reserved for exceptional contributions. In fact, there have been only four prior recipients?."
"We could not be more pleased that the MCCA has recognized Nolan's outstanding achievements in the ongoing struggle for diversity," said Sheldon Bonovitz, Chairman of Duane Morris. "Nolan has accomplished a great deal through quiet persuasion, by championing new approaches and is raising hope that we can improve upon the underrepresentation of minority lawyers in law firms and corporate law departments," he added. "That the MCCA is putting him forward for this unique honor is a testament both to the group and to Nolan."
The MCCA recognized Mr. Atkinson for his "significant efforts and accomplishments? through the establishment of the Philadelphia Diversity Law Group, Inc. In particular, [his] steadfast dedication to educating corporate departments and law firms about the importance of diversity is commendable."
MCCA 2004 Honorees (l to r) CG Appleby, Booz Allen Hamilton; Nolan Atkinson, Jr., Duane Morris LLP; Judith Soltz, CIGNA Corporation; Veta Richardson, MCCA; William Cook, Arnold & Porter; and Glenn Engelmann, AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals
The Philadelphia Diversity Law Group, Inc. (PDLG), is a consortium of law firms and corporations committed to increasing ethnic and racial diversity in Philadelphia's larger law firms. Among other programs, the PDLG recruits first-year law students for summer associate positions and helps place them in law firms and corporate law departments.
The MCCA, according to its Mission Statement, was founded in 1997 to advocate for the expanded hiring, retention, and promotion of minority attorneys in corporate law departments and the law firms that serve them. MCCA accomplishes its mission through the collection and dissemination of information about diversity in the legal profession. Previous Rainbowmaker awards went to Thomas Gottschalk, General Counsel of General Motors, David DeBruin and Deanne Maynard, partners with Jenner & Block LLP, and Pauline Higgins, Senior Vice President and General Counsel of JP Morgan Chase & Co. Inc.
Mr. Atkinson is a member of the Section of Litigation of the American Bar Association, a member of the Philadelphia Bar Association, and was formerly co-chair of the Conference of Minority Partners in Majority Corporate Law Firms, a constituent entity of the ABA's Commission on Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Profession. Mr. Atkinson is Chairman of the Diversity Committee at Duane Morris and has served on the firm's Partners' Board, Hiring Committee and as Administrative Partner of the Trial Department.
An active litigator, Mr. Atkinson has taught trial advocacy at the University of Pennsylvania Law School and Temple University School of Law. He served for 12 years as a Commissioner of Lower Merion Township. He has also served as a Board Member of First Pennsylvania Corporation and CoreStates Bank. Mr. Atkinson is a 1969 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Law School (LL.M., International Law), a 1967 graduate of Howard University School of Law, and a graduate of Boston University.
About Duane Morris
Duane Morris LLP, one of the 100 largest law firms in the United States, is a full-service firm of approximately 550 lawyers. In addition, Duane Morris affiliates have approximately 50 professionals engaged in ancillary service businesses. The firm represents clients across the nation and around the world through a combination of more than 20 offices and relationships with two international networks of independent law firms.