Phelps Lawyers Chosen for National Leadership Council on Legal Diversity 2024 Programs
NEW ORLEANS — Feb. 9, 2024 — The Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD) selected three Phelps lawyers for its 2024 programs. Partner Candace Gregory was chosen as a 2024 Fellow, and associates Maritza Sanchez and Aryne Hudson joined this year’s Pathfinder class.
LCLD was founded in 2009. It includes more than 400 corporate chief legal officers and law firm managing partners committed to creating a truly diverse legal profession. The LCLD Fellows Program, a year-long program devoted to relationship-building and leadership training, has trained nearly 2,000 mid-career attorneys since 2011. The LCLD Pathfinder Program has trained more than 900 early-career attorneys since 2015. It gives participants practical tools to develop and leverage internal professional networks, foundational leadership skills, and an understanding of career development strategies.
The Fellows program connects high-potential attorneys like Candace with leading general counsel, managing partners and their peers to offer one-on-one guidance Fellows will take with them throughout their careers. It describes its goal as a commitment to “mentor the legal industry’s diverse leaders of tomorrow.”
As a partner in the firm’s Jackson office, Candace focuses her litigation practice on cybersecurity, white-collar defense and investigations, and media and First Amendment law. She previously served as director of the Public Integrity Division and statewide coordinator for officer-involved shootings for the attorney general of Mississippi. Before joining the Mississippi attorney general’s office, Candace was the first hybrid Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi, responsible for managing and litigating both civil and criminal civil rights matters and violent crime matters throughout the district. Candace is a leader in her local community and has coached high school mock trial teams in Maryland and Mississippi. She is currently an adjunct professor of business law and criminal law and procedure at South College in Nashville, Tennessee.
In their time at the firm, Maritza and Aryne have built impressive careers and shown promising potential for leadership. Maritza, an associate on the firm’s Dallas/Fort Worth labor and employment team, counsels employers and organizations through all stages of litigation in state and federal courts throughout the country. She also partners with local community organizations that give back to the Latinx community and was instrumental in the firm’s sponsorship of Di'Lolas Caminata Juntos Contra El Cáncer, a fundraising walk that provides financial support to breast cancer patients and their families in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.
A member of the Mobile litigation group, Aryne represents clients in a variety of matters including tort and commercial litigation as well as health care claims. In her community, Aryne serves on the Board of Directors for the Community Foundation of South Alabama, which creates grant and scholarship opportunities for southwest Alabama residents in need.
Throughout this year’s program, Maritza and Aryne will learn from experienced mentors how to transform their potential into skills that will help them contribute to a more equitable and diverse legal profession.
“Phelps is a longtime supporter of the LCLD and is proud to have our attorneys work with the organization to advance diversity, equity and inclusion in the legal profession,” said Phelps partner LaToya Merritt, chair of the firm’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee and 2016 Fellow. “The LCLD’s programs align with our goal to provide intentional and enriching opportunities for our diverse group of attorneys. Candace, Maritza and Aryne will build on their limitless potential for leadership. These programs, along with their deep commitment to DEI, will provide them will valuable experience to strengthen their bonds in the community and reach the next step in their careers.”
Phelps also partners with the 1L LCLD Scholars program to mentor law school students each summer. The program offers the opportunity for first-year law students to work side-by-side with attorneys from LCLD member organizations. Founded in 2011, 1L LCLD Scholars has put hundreds of young attorneys on a leadership path through law school and beyond. To learn more about Phelps’ participation in LCLD, visit LCLD’s website.