Global law firm Baker McKenzie is pleased to announce that Baker McKenzie Partner Yoon Chae has been named a member of the 2022 class of Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD) Fellows, a year-long professional development program for the legal industry's emerging leaders. In addition, Baker McKenzie Associates Adeola Olowude and Andrea Tovar have been accepted into LCLD's Pathfinder Program, a seven-month professional program designed to train high-performing, early-career lawyers on foundational leadership and relationship-building skills. The goal of both programs is to identify, engage and advance the next generation of leaders in the legal profession.
Yoon Chae is a Partner in the Firm's Dallas office, where he works on intellectual property and technology matters. He plays critical roles in all stages of IP litigation with significant experience working on diverse legal issues in front of the Federal Circuit, International Trade Commission, Court of Federal Claims, Patent Trial and Appeal Board, American Arbitration Association and numerous federal district courts. Yoon has litigated patent cases covering a wide range of technologies such as financial products, medical devices, electronic circuits, projection and display technologies, encryption and authentication protocols, engine control, mobile applications and telecommunication systems. He also advises on patent prosecution, trade secrets and other IP and technology issues, with a focus on artificial intelligence.
Adeola Olowude is a member of the Firm's North America Employment & Compensation Practice, with experience advising employers regarding state, federal and global employment laws, particularly in connection with cross-border transactions, including mergers, acquisitions, spin-offs, reorganizations and post-acquisition integration. She counsels employers on domestic and cross-border employment matters arising throughout the employment relationship, including helping clients expand into new jurisdictions, manage global workforces and terminate employment relationships. Adeola also advises on employment and separation agreements, restrictive covenants agreements, reductions in force and restructuring, wage and hour compliance matters and employment discrimination charges.
Andrea Tovar is a member of the Firm's North America International Commercial Practice and Co-chair of the North America Baker Unidos Affiliate Network. She advises multinational companies on cross-border commercial transactions and complex privacy and international trade matters. Her practice covers multijurisdictional commercial transactions including IP migrations, supply chain restructurings, global spin-offs, post-acquisition integrations and technology transactions. Andrea also advises companies on a wide range of privacy and trade matters including export controls, sanctions, procurement/vendor onboarding processes and M&A due diligence. Additionally, she has experience assisting companies in navigating the fast-developing US gaming and sports betting market by creating tailored strategies for expansion.
"Yoon, Adeola and Andrea exemplify the future leaders of their generations as well as our Firm," said Colin Murray, Baker McKenzie's North America Chief Executive Officer. "We commend these outstanding lawyers on their selection to these prestigious LCLD programs and their unwavering commitment to leadership, mentorship and our Firm's inclusion and diversity efforts. We are proud of their participation in an organization that plays such a critical role in making the legal profession more inclusive, diverse and equitable."
LCLD is an organization of more than 400 corporate chief legal officers and law firm managing partners who have pledged themselves to creating a truly diverse US legal profession. Their action programs are designed to attract, inspire and nurture the talent in society and within their organizations, thereby helping a new and more diverse generation of attorneys ascend to positions of leadership.