Blank Rome Announces 2022 Leadership Council on Legal Diversity Fellow and Pathfinders
Blank Rome LLP is pleased to announce that the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (“LCLD”) has selected Megan R. Wood to join the 2022 LCLD Fellows Program and Saloni R. Patel and Samar Aryani-Sabet to join the 2022 LCLD Pathfinder Program. These hallmark programs are dedicated to producing a generation of attorneys with strong leadership and relationship skills who are committed to fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion within their individual institutions and throughout the legal industry.
“We are thrilled to have Megan, Saloni, and Samar represent Blank Rome in the 2022 LCLD Fellows Program and Pathfinder Program,” said Grant S. Palmer, Blank Rome’s Managing Partner and CEO. “They have all demonstrated a real commitment to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion at our firm, throughout the legal industry, and within their local communities, and we look forward to celebrating their successful achievements in this critical mission in the years to come.”
“As a longstanding LCLD member organization, Blank Rome is more committed than ever to accelerating diversity, equity, and inclusion throughout the organization, legal industry, and beyond,” said Krystal Studavent Ramsey, Director of Diversity and Inclusion at Blank Rome. “The retention, development, and advancement of our diverse attorneys is at the core of our firm’s culture and mission, and we are proactively engaged in identifying, implementing, and supporting new opportunities through progressive programs, policies, and initiatives such as the LCLD Fellows and Pathfinders programs.”
The LCLD Fellows Program is an intensive, yearlong professional development program that mentors the legal industry’s diverse leaders of tomorrow. The program connects high-potential attorneys with leading general counsel and managing partners as well as their peers for mentoring and career guidance. As one of the Fellows selected for the 2022 class, Megan will participate in virtual and in-person class meetings, including opportunities to interact with key legal and business leaders of large U.S. corporations, and leadership lunches hosted by LCLD member organizations featuring a managing partner or general counsel.
The LCLD Pathfinder Program is a seven-month professional program designed to provide high-performing, early-career attorneys with practical tools for developing and leveraging internal professional networks, foundational leadership skills, and an understanding of career development strategies. As 2022 Pathfinders, Saloni and Samar will be individually matched with a program facilitator who will serve as a mentor in helping to bridge what they learn in the program with our firm. From class meetings to group peer circles, Saloni and Samar will interact and network with their peers, both in person and in a virtual format, in addition to engaging in an exclusive LCLD leadership and professional-development curriculum.
For a full list of Blank Rome’s LCLD Fellows and Pathfinders, please visit our firm's Leadership Council on Legal Diversity overview.
About Blank Rome’s 2022 LCLD Fellow and Pathfinders
Megan Wood is an intellectual property & technology associate based in our firm’s Washington, D.C., office. She focuses her practice on patent litigation, patent prosecution, and IP due diligence in support of corporate mergers and acquisitions. She has been a critical member of multiple litigation teams that have won a jury verdict after a four-day trial in the Western District of Texas, achieved favorable settlements, and won a victory before the Federal Circuit on behalf of firm clients. She has also successfully prosecuted numerous patent applications resulting in notices of allowance (patents) for clients in the electrical, chemical, and medical device fields. Megan previously served as a 2017 LCLD Pathfinder.
Saloni Patel is a real estate associate based in our firm’s New York City office. She advises real estate owners and developers in nationwide acquisitions, sales, and financing matters, and regularly represents private lenders that provide secured financing for a broad spectrum of real estate projects. Saloni also serves as vice co-chair of BR Pride, Blank Rome’s LGBTQ+ affinity group.
Samar Aryani-Sabet is an intellectual property & technology associate based in our firm’s Philadelphia office. She concentrates her practice on a wide range of IP matters, including domestic and international IP counseling, clearance, and enforcement; trademarks; IP licensing; copyrights; IP transactions, mergers, and acquisitions, including due diligence; technology agreements; domain name disputes; data and privacy matters; and IP litigation. In 2021, Samar was recognized as a “Lawyer on the Fast Track” by The Legal Intelligencer.
