Panelists, from left: Williams & Connolly’s Natasha Zech, Freddie Mac’s Jacqueline Welch, Baker Tilly’s James Munuhe, McGuireWoods’ Ava Lias-Booker and Baker Tilly’s Todd Stokes
McGuireWoods Baltimore partner Ava Lias-Booker participated in a Jan. 14, 2020, panel discussion in Tysons, Virginia, titled “Diversity well beyond the theory: The ‘how’ in recruitment, retention and inclusion.”
Hosted by advisory, tax and assurance firm Baker Tilly Virchow Krause, the discussion focused on what Washington, D.C., businesses, including McGuireWoods, are doing to drive change in their own organizations. Panelists also examined diversity recruitment practices, retention of diverse personnel and how companies can establish an inclusive internal culture that nurtures diversity and inclusion. More than 70 people attended, including McGuireWoods D.C. office managing partner Todd Mullins.
Lias-Booker’s leadership roles include chairing the firm’s Diversity & Inclusion Committee and sitting on its Diversity Action Council and Associates Committee. A seasoned trial and appellate lawyer, she leads McGuireWoods’ Baltimore litigation practice with three decades of first-chair trial experience representing businesses in complex commercial litigation. She is dedicated to mentoring new lawyers and serving legal and civic communities in Baltimore and nationwide. She is a member of the boards of visitors of Duke University School of Law and the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law and the board of directors of the Baltimore Open Society Institute.
Among her numerous honors, last year Savoy magazine named Lias-Booker to its “Most Influential Women in Corporate America” list honoring African-American business leaders and executives across industries.