Robins Kaplan LLP Announces 2017 Leadership Council on Legal Diversity Fellow and Pathfinder

Minneapolis, MN—March 3, 2017—Robins Kaplan LLP^® is pleased to announce that Brandon Vaughn has been selected to the 2017 class of Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD) Fellows—a program established to identify, train, and advance the next generation of leaders in the legal profession. He is the seventh Robins Kaplan attorney to participate in this program since its inception in 2011. Additionally, Ami ElShareif has been selected to the 2017 class of Pathfinders, an LCLD program designed to train early-career attorneys in critical career development strategies.

“Brandon and Ami are the ideal candidates for both leadership programs,” said Kellie Lerner, partner and co-chair of Robins Kaplan’s Diversity Committee. “They join a select group of incredibly talented attorneys from diverse backgrounds who have been recognized for their leadership not only at our firm, but in the profession as a whole.”

Named a principal this year, Vaughn represents plaintiffs in personal injury, medical malpractice, and product liability actions, providing advocacy and justice for those harmed by the medical system. He has handled several notable cases over the course of his career, including a $4.5 million settlement on behalf of an infant who suffered severe and permanent neurological damage when a hospital and nurse/midwife let the mother’s labor continue under unsafe circumstances. In the past two years alone, Vaughn has served as lead trial counsel in multiple medical malpractice cases, including three wrongful death cases, two arising from surgical procedures and one from a chiropractic cervical manipulation.

His commitment to diversity and inclusion has resulted in multiple committee appointments, including his most recent appointment as secretary of the Young Lawyers Division of the National Bar Association—the world’s largest and oldest organization of black judges, lawyers, and law students.

ElShareif, an associate at Robins Kaplan, handles both plaintiff and defense work in the firm’s business litigation department. She works on a variety of business disputes, with clients ranging from small business owners to large corporations. Recently, ElShareif second-chaired a trial in a civil fraud and conspiracy case, and also helped secure a successful result in a Freedom of Information Act dispute which will require the United States Department of Justice to release previously-withheld documents. Ami serves as co-chair of the Hennepin County Bar Association’s 1L Minority Clerkship Program and is a member of the District of Minnesota Federal Bar Association Diversity Committee and the Twin Cities Diversity in Practice Young Lawyers Group.

“The LCLD Fellows program offers participants a rich year of relationship-building, in-person training, peer-group projects, and extensive contact with LCLD’s top leadership,” said LCLD president Robert J. Grey, Jr. “The Pathfinder program offers participants intensive in-person training, online experiential learning, and opportunities to network with peers and esteemed LCLD Fellows in small group gatherings. We believe it’s a program that can help catapult a person’s career forward.”

Founded in 2009, LCLD is a growing organization of more than 260 corporate chief legal officers and law firm managing partners who are personally committed to creating a more diverse and inclusive legal profession. The LCLD Fellows program, which has trained more than a thousand mid-career attorneys since 2011, is one of LCLD’s most important initiatives. The LCLD Pathfinder program is now in its second year as a full-scale program, having been piloted in 2015 among a select number of LCLD member law firms and corporations. It is an initiative that has filled a gap in LCLD programming, targeting junior associates and the youngest members of corporate law departments. For additional information, visit www.lcldnet.org.