Thompson Hine LLP is pleased to announce that the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD) has selected Thompson Hine partner Layla Dotson Lumpkin as a Fellow and managing associates Austin Alexander and Michael Steele as Pathfinders. LCLD actively promotes diversity and inclusion in the legal profession through initiatives aimed at advancing a new generation of leaders.

As a member of the 2022 class of Fellows, Lumpkin will take part in a year-long, in-depth program devoted to relationship building, leadership training, small group sessions and extensive interaction with LCLD’s leadership, members (managing partners and general counsel) and alumni.

A partner in the firm’s Corporate Transactions & Securities practice group, Lumpkin advises clients who are acquiring and selling businesses, including private equity, strategic and operator buyers and sellers. She also serves as outside general counsel to emerging companies, including guiding them through venture capital financings and negotiating complex commercial arrangements. In addition, she counsels investors on convertible instrument and equity investments and advises fund managers on structuring and forming investment vehicles. She is committed to serving her community and increasing opportunities for underrepresented founders. She regularly mentors startups, is often invited to speak on early-stage company legal issues and teaches a law school course in entrepreneurship law and venture capital finance.

As members of the 2022 Pathfinders class, Alexander and Steele will participate in a program for diverse, high-potential, early-career attorneys designed to provide practical tools for developing and leveraging internal professional networks through relationship-building skills, foundational leadership skills and an understanding of career development strategies.

Alexander, a managing associate in the firm’s Business Restructuring, Creditors’ Rights & Bankruptcy practice, focuses on bankruptcy matters, including representing creditors in insolvency proceedings. His experience includes representing community banks, real estate developers and utility companies in bankruptcy and other collection-related matters.

Steele is a managing associate in the firm’s Product Liability Litigation group. His experience includes representing utility companies and manufacturers in litigation involving product liability claims, toxic torts, and commercial disputes.

Thompson Hine will also participate in the 1L LCLD Scholars Program, which matches law students with attorneys from LCLD member organizations, providing them with professional experience and introducing them to the value of relationships and building networks with LCLD members.