Washington Lawyer - June 2020 - 27

WilmerHale LLP

I knew that this would be a great
opportunity to learn from other
leaders in our community.
ERICKA AIKEN
WilmerHale LLP

"Consistently my mentors referenced their mentors. A name that frequently came up was John Payton," Aiken says. Payton was a partner at
WilmerHale for more than 20 years, joining the firm in 1978.
"Unfortunately, he passed away before I started working at WilmerHale.
But when I got to the firm, it was clear that his history and legacy were
not only memorialized at the firm, but they were still felt in the way that
we do our business and in the way that we conduct our pro bono practices. So, when I heard about the John Payton Leadership Academy,
I knew that this would be a great opportunity to learn from other leaders
in our community," Aiken says. Another WilmerHale attorney, Jeremy
Moorehouse, is attending this year's academy.

Whitman-Walker Health

"We recruit top talent and it's so important for us to continue their professional development so that we can develop leaders within the profession," says Monya Bunch, professional development and diversity
manager at WilmerHale.

I find providing empowerment
very rewarding. But I want
to transfer this sense of
empowerment in a way to lift
up my team members and
colleagues.
KRISZTINA SZABO
Whitman-Walker Health

Bunch also believes in pro bono advocacy, a cornerstone of the
Leadership Academy. In fact, all attendees will participate in the D.C. Bar
Pro Bono Center's Advice & Referral Clinics. "We want to develop attorneys who recognize the importance of giving back, being active in local
bars and pro bono activities," Bunch says. "John Payton was such an
integral part of our firm. The fact that the academy was renamed in his
honor, it just has that much more meaning for us because we know how
he encouraged and developed our attorneys."

FEATURE

CLASS OF 2020
Ericka Aiken
Counsel, WilmerHale LLP
Lauren Birzon Harriman
Senior Attorney, Children's
Law Center

Brandi Howard
Associate, McGuireWoods
LLP
Jennifer Ivers
Associate, White & Case LLP

Kimberley Cruz
Family Court Supervisory
Attorney, D.C. Superior Court

Carla Jordan-Detamore
Senior Associate, Vinson
& Elkins LLP

Daniela de la Piedra
Senior Staff Attorney, Legal
Counsel for the Elderly

Andrea Mangones
Managing Attorney, Kids
in Need of Defense

Erica Deray
Supervising Attorney,
Whitman-Walker Health

Jessica Megaw
Associate, Steptoe &
Johnson LLP

Farhad Aspy Fatakia
Trial Attorney, D.C. Office
of the Attorney General

Jeremy Moorehouse
Counsel, WilmerHale LLP

Wandaly Fernandez
Associate, Sidley Austin LLP
Stephanie Fouse
Staff Counsel, U.S. Supreme
Court
Blair Gilbert
Staff Attorney, Legal Aid Society
of the District of Columbia

Lyssa-Michelle Morris
Associate, Banner Witcoff
Karthik Nagarajan
Associate, White & Case LLP
Roger Lu Phillips
Legal Director, Syria Justice
and Accountability Centre
James Stewart
Associate, DLA Piper

Hardeep Grover
Attorney, Tresquire Legal
Services PLLC

Krisztina E. Szabo
Staff Attorney, WhitmanWalker Health

Minsuk Han
Associate, Kellogg, Hansen,
Todd, Figel & Frederick, P.L.L.C.

Y. Michelle Zhang
Associate, Banner Witcoff

Nicola Harrison
Assistant General Counsel,
Strategic Funding Source
(Kapitus)

JUNE 2020

WASHINGTON LAWYER

Washington Lawyer - June 2020

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