Blank Rome Announces 2023 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 Samir Ahuja to join the 2023 LCLD Fellows Program and Christine Otero and Dalila Berry to join the 2023 LCLD Pathfinders 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 excited to have Samir, Christine, and Dalila represent Blank Rome in the 2023 LCLD Fellows Program and Pathfinders Program,” said Grant S. Palmer, Blank Rome’s Chair and Managing Partner. “Their commitment to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion within our firm, local communities, and the legal industry serves as an inspiration, and we look forward to continuing to celebrate their achievements in this space in the years to come.”
“As a longstanding LCLD member organization, Blank Rome’s commitment to the retention, development, and advancement of our attorneys is at the core of our firm’s culture, and we are proud to support LCLD’s goal of building a more equitable, inclusive, and diverse legal profession,” said Krystal Studavent Ramsey, Director of Diversity and Inclusion at Blank Rome. “Our firm continues to proactively engage in identifying, implementing, and supporting new collaborative opportunities that align with our growth strategy, 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 2023 class, Samir will participate in training sessions and interact with key legal and business leaders of large U.S. corporations as well as managing partners from prestigious law firms.
The LCLD Pathfinders 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 2023 Pathfinders, Christine and Dalila will each be placed in a small group that is led by 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, Christine and Dalila 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.
Both programs will begin in March, starting with meetings in San Diego.
To learn more about Blank Rome’s participation with the LCLD’s Fellows and Pathfinders program and previous firm LCLD members, please click here.
About Blank Rome’s 2023 LCLD Fellow and Pathfinders
Samir Ahuja is a finance partner based in our firm’s New York City office. He concentrates his practice on finance, restructuring, and bankruptcy matters. He represents investment banks, financial institutions, and borrowers in connection with acquisition and general financing transactions. Samir was previously named a winner of the Secured Finance Network’s “40 Under 40 Awards” in the Legal Services category.
Christine Otero is a matrimonial & family law associate based in our firm’s Los Angeles office. She concentrates her practice on a wide range of matrimonial and family law matters, including divorce, custody and child support, dissolution, and domestic violence.
Dalila Berry is a finance associate based in our firm’s Philadelphia office. She concentrates her practice in business and financing matters and counsels clients in accordance with their business needs. She represents borrowers, banks, commercial finance companies, second-lien lenders, mezzanine lenders, and other institutional lenders in a wide range of financing transactions. From 2019–2022, Dalila was named a Pennsylvania “Rising Star” in Business & Corporate Law by Super Lawyers.
