Duane Morris DEI 360 Podcast with Joe West Duane Morris LLP Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Joe West talks with Duane Morris Partner John Simpson about his remarkable experiences and lessons learned from growing up as "a military brat" in the segregated South, attending Harvard after being accepted by the U.S. Air Force Academy and West Point, to getting drafted during the Vietnam War and choosing to be a platoon leader, knowing it was the "most dangerous job in the Marine Corps." After his military service, John attended Columbia Law School, where his civil procedures professor was Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Those contrasting experiences, living through the civil rights movement and serving in the military during the anti-war protests sweeping college campuses, shaped John into the nationally recognized trial lawyer he is today, with a focus on animal law. He finds parallels between Duane Morris and his approach to law: "We're not afraid to go to trial, and if we get to trial, we're going to bury the other side. So if you want to win a case that nobody says can be won, we are the people you hire. This is what we do and we do it well." For younger lawyers finding their own paths, John advises: "If you're a trial lawyer, you've got to be all-in on your client's point of view and you've got to empathize. You've got to, as we used to say, hug the cactus."

Dan Mitchell shares his journey from graduating Georgia Tech with an engineering degree, working at the U.S. Patent Office while attending law school at night, to joining Duane Morris as a patent litigation associate. Dan understands he's a rarity and "there aren't a lot of diverse, African American engineers" and even "fewer diverse engineers with law degrees." Growing up in southern Georgia, Dan didn't know engineers or lawyers and now he's both. For Dan, "it's very important that you have an example that you can see, because once you see it, it just seems more obtainable." Having set out on an ambitious and daunting career path, Dan feels a responsibility "to be visible in my community" and "to let others see me" in the hope of inspiring others to reach for more than they thought possible, as he did. Dan also advises younger lawyers to find mentors, "someone that's been there and done that." And if "they can't find anyone, tell them to call me, I will talk to each and every one of them. I'll take the time."

Joe West talks with "one of his favorite people on the planet" Christi Campbell, IP partner and chair of the Duane Morris Women's Impact Network for Success (WINS), about how she got started in the legal profession and what her day-to-day looks like protecting branding and trademarks for well-known companies and individuals. Christi also shares how she went from being initially skeptical of the importance and need for women's initiatives, to leading the firm's WINS program, which provides opportunities for networking, leadership training, business development skills and advancement. Finally, Christi quotes Tom Petty when offering advice to young lawyers entering this difficult profession: "Don't back down."

Joe West talks with Executive Compensation and Benefits Partner John Nixon about his career path and how he helps clients negotiate their compensation contracts, which can be overwhelming and involve "a firehose of terms" and personal considerations beyond simply the money. The son of school teachers who "didn't get stock options," John understands that for "a lot of us, we're the first generation in our family to be in this position." He strives to be "a trusted advisor that they can ask questions of" and not "feel uncertain or insecure" in these pivotal moments. Additionally, John shares his thoughts on the future of ESG and his perspectives as a person of color in a field where that's a rarity. Finally, John offers advice for younger lawyers: build the virtuous cycle and focus on being good at what you do. Then, "people will want to work with you and the work will follow."

Dalayna Tillman, Director and Global Environmental, Health, and Safety Counsel at American Airlines, talks with Joe about her career path, her work at American Airlines and how ESG and good corporate citizenship have been surprisingly longstanding values in the business world. As she was getting started, Dalayna found a way to make her passion for science into a career as an environmental lawyer, with stops in private practice, Amazon Web Services and now at American Airlines. Dalayna advises young lawyers just starting their journeys that "each opportunity is going to look different and it’s your obligation to take what you can from it."

Mark Lerner, Duane Morris Partner and Chair of the Trademark, Copyright, Entertainment and Advertising Division of the firm's Intellectual Property Practice Group, sits down with Joe to discuss joining the firm a month before the pandemic shutdowns, finding a community and his role co-chairing the firm's Pride ERG. They also discuss how much progress the LGBTQ community has made and the many hurdles it still faces ahead.