Dell Legal Diversity and Pro Bono Awards Presented

Dell Legal has recognized significant achievements by its partner law firms in promoting diversity and pro bono efforts throughout their practice and industry.  This year marks the first time that the Dell Legal Diversity and Pro Bono Awards were open to all firms that represent our combined businesses and I was thrilled to see so many new names and consider so many worthy law firms.

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Dell Legal Diversity Award

Last month, I had the honor to award the Dell Legal Diversity Award to Wilmer Hale.  Headquartered in Boston, Wilmer Hale has long supported the EMC side of the business; welcoming them to the broader Dell EMC team was a great addition to our legal support team.  Not only has Wilmer Hale dedicated itself to advancing diversity in the industry, they are also one of the few AmLaw 200 firms that have both a woman and a person of color as co-managing partners.  The firm runs a two-week crash course for diverse law students preparing to start law school and also runs a high school mentoring program in New York City called Young Women of Color.  Wilmer Hale’s latest class of partners included 43 percent attorneys of color and 29 percent women.  And the firm has instituted their version of the “Mansfield Rule,” ensuring that their candidate pools include at least 30 percent diverse candidates.

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Dell General Counsel Rich Rothberg, members of the Dell Legal Diversity Committee, and the Dell Legal Diversity Award Winner Wilmer Hale.

Dell Pro Bono Award

I also had the honor to recognize two law firms for their dedication to pro bono work.  The Austin firm Boulette, Golden & Marin has been a long-time partner who has been committed to serving its community.  Not only has the firm helped local organizations such as Girls Rock Austin but their lawyers have also donated significant time to help the Texas Civil Rights Project, Workers Defense Project, Habitat for Humanity, and CASA.  In the past year, the firm has partnered with Dell attorneys on pro bono matters for Volunteer Legal Services and in advocating for people impacted by recent immigration legal actions, including volunteering time with American Gateways representing a 19-year-old woman from El Salvador seeking asylum in the United States.

group of people standing together
Dell General Counsel Rich Rothberg, members of the Dell Legal Pro Bono Committee, and the Dell Legal Pro Bono Award Winner Boulette, Golden & Marin.

The Boston firm of Nutter McClennen & Fish also received a Pro Bono award for its service to the community.  The award specifically recognizes the firm’s work with the Massachusetts members of the Dell Legal team in partnership with KIND (Kids in Need of Defense), an organization that represents unaccompanied immigrant children during their deportation proceedings.  Nutter and Dell attorneys, working together, have represented 13 children via KIND and have secured special findings (a significant step towards becoming residents) for seven of those children.  Nutter’s commitment to supporting Dell EMC in their legal representation as well as assisting the community is a worthy recipient of the Pro Bono Award.

I congratulate all the winners of our Dell Legal Diversity and Pro Bono Awards in 2017 and look forward to seeing what remarkable achievements our partner law firms will perform in the next year.

About the Author: Richard Rothberg

Rich Rothberg is the General Counsel for Dell. In this role, he oversees the global legal department and manages government affairs, compliance and ethics. He is also responsible for global security. Rich joined Dell in 1999 and has served in critical leadership roles throughout the legal department. He served as a vice president of legal, supporting our businesses in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region before moving to Singapore in 2008 as vice president of legal for the Asia-Pacific and Japan region. He returned to the United States in 2010 to serve as vice president of legal for the North America and Latin America regions. In this role, he was lead counsel for sales and operations in the Americas and for the enterprise solutions, software and end-user computing business units. He also led the government affairs organization worldwide. Prior to joining Dell, Rich spent nearly eight years at Caterpillar Inc. in senior legal roles in Nashville, Tenn., and Geneva, Switzerland. He was also an attorney for IBM Credit Corporation and Rogers & Wells. Rich holds a juris doctor degree from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Arts degree from New York University.