Directory Features

Mylyn K. Alexander-Smith
Counsel II
Bayer HealthCare LLC
Diabetes Care Division

Mylyn Alexander Smith is corporate counsel for Bayer HealthCare LLC, supporting its Diabetes Care business in Tarrytown, NY, where she serves as primary legal advisor to several U.S. business units including marketing, global communications, human resources and provides legal review of all advertising and promotional materials for the U.S. Prior to joining Bayer, Smith was a senior associate with Day Pitney LLP in NJ where she represented clients in the healthcare and life sciences industry in a variety of regulatory and employment compliance matters. Smith began her career as a Deputy Attorney General with the State of New Jersey and is a former general counsel for the largest medical center in NJ. Smith received her B.A. and M.Ed. from Howard University, where she was elected to Kappa Delta Pi Honor Society and her J.D. with honors in international and foreign law from Rutgers University School of Law. Smith recently co-presented on a panel discussing "Blogs, Social Networking Sites and other Potential Danger Zones: Avoiding New Pitfalls in a Changing DTC Advertising Environment" at the ACI's 10th National Conference.

Mecole Brown
Vice President of Human Resources
Walmart US, West Business Unit

Mecole Brown was recently named the vice president of Human Resources for Walmart US, West Business Unit. She is responsible for the development, implementation and execution of human resources strategy for over 300,000 associates across 23 states. In her most recent role as vice president and chief diversity officer, Brown led diversity strategy, company-wide inclusion efforts and oversaw implementation of the company’s most important employment practices initiatives. Brown joined Walmart in 2002 as assistant general counsel of Equal Employment Opportunity Compliance Group. She also served as the vice president of employment and diversity practices and as the vice president of Employment Practices, Compliance and Policy. Brown also served as associate general counsel in the employment practices division of the legal department, and senior director of training development and associate processes for Sam's Club. Prior to joining Walmart, Brown gained extensive employment law and human resources experience through her work as an attorney, consultant and human resources professional with various corporations and firms. Brown received her B.A. from Southern Methodist University and J.D. from Southern Methodist University.

Sharie A. Brown
Partner
DLA Piper LLP

Sharie A. Brown is the chair of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, Anti-Corruption and Corporate Compliance practice group and a partner in DLA Piper’s Litigation practice, based in Washington, D.C. Brown comes to DLA Piper from Foley & Lardner LLP, where she served as chair of that firm’s White Collar Defense and Corporate Compliance practice and was chair of the litigation department's diversity committee and served on the Litigation Program Committee and the Women's Network Steering Committee. Before joining Foley, Brown was senior counsel at Mobil Oil Corporation, where she also served as the company’s ethics and compliance officer and directed Mobil's state government relations in key states. Prior to Mobil, Brown was an assistant United States attorney in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and clerked for the Honorable Richard M. Bilby, United States District Court, District of Arizona. In May 2009, the National Bar Association's Greater Washington Area Chapter Women Lawyers Division honored her as a Distinguished Attorney at its 2009 Annual Networking Reception. Brown received her B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania, M.A. from the University of Pennsylvania and J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center.

Deborah J. Broyles
Partner
Reed Smith LLP

Deborah J. Broyles is a partner at Reed Smith LLP, where she represents employers in all aspects of employment litigation. Prior to Reed Smith, Broyles was a partner at Thelen Reid Brown Raysman & Steiner LLP. She has extensive experience coordinating and managing substantial employment litigation dockets for national clients. Broyles also counsels clients in matters that concern alternative dispute resolution procedures, personnel policies and practices, and she provides in-house training and seminars on a variety of labor and employment issues. Further, Broyles advises clients on diversity best practices, initiatives, and training. Broyles has been named to the Northern California Super Lawyer and Northern California Female Super Lawyer lists. She received her B.A. from Mount Holyoke College and J.D. from Harvard Law School.

Malissia R. Clinton
Senior Vice President and General Counsel
Aerospace

Malissia R. Clinton is senior vice president, general counsel, and secretary of Aerospace. Before joining Aerospace, Clinton was senior counsel for special projects in the Office of the General Counsel at Northrop Grumman’s corporate offices in Century City. In that position she provided legal guidance regarding corporate governance, reporting directly to the general counsel and deputy general counsel/corporate secretary. She additionally supported the chief executive officer, the president, and the vice president of contracts, and provided risk assessments of contracts from Northrop Grumman’s various business segments. Clinton began her Northrop Grumman career in 1998 in the space technology sector, first as counsel and later as senior counsel. Prior to joining Northrop Grumman she worked for the law firm of Tuttle and Taylor. Clinton, a member of Phi Beta Kappa, earned a bachelor’s degree, summa cum laude, in political science from Arizona State University and her J.D. from Stanford Law School, where she was an editor of the Stanford Law Review. She is a graduate of the UCLA Anderson School’s executive program in business management.

Lisa Stewart Hughes
Commercial  Litigator and
Vice President of Corporate Compliance
NBC Universal

Lisa Stewart Hughes is a commercial litigator and compliance attorney, currently serving as vice president of corporate compliance for NBC Universal. Since joining NBC Universal in 2000, she has managed all aspects of the company’s corporate compliance program, providing advice, training, risk assessment, and related counseling in a variety of policy areas including the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and money laundering, antitrust, fair employment practices, privacy, and data protection. Hughes oversees compliance for NBC Universal Spanish language division, Telemundo, and supports the organization’s domestic and international sales teams and production operations in the U.S., Latin America and Europe. Prior to joining NBC Universal, Hughes worked as an attorney specializing in commercial litigation at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, LLP and Hogan & Hartson LLP. She currently is a member of the Ethics and Compliance Association. She graduated cum laude from Yale University with a B.A. in political science and received her J.D. from Harvard Law School, where she was a publishing member of the Civil Rights & Civil Liberties Law Review and an editor of the BlackLetter Law Journal.

Sonya Johnston
Senior Attorney
Entertainment and Devices Division
Microsoft Corporation

Sonya Johnston is a senior attorney and lead legal advisor to a multi-billion dollar worldwide consumer retail channel within Microsoft’s Entertainment and Devices Division, which supports over 29 product categories within Microsoft. Johnston and her team of six in-house legal professionals are responsible for the legal work associated with the distribution, marketing and promotion of consumer software and hardware products, including Xbox games and consoles and Zune entertainment devices. In addition to supervising a legal staff, Johnston also manages several outside counsel attorneys in the U.S. and worldwide. Her practice is primarily focused on complex commercial transactions involving commercial retail distribution laws, marketing and merchandising laws, intellectual property licensing, anti-trust and anti-competition laws, consumer laws, and privacy. Prior to Microsoft, Johnston practiced entertainment and music law in New York City. She holds a B.S. from Rutgers University/Douglass College and a J.D. from Seton Hall University Law School. She is a 2008 graduate of the UCLA Anderson School of Business, African-American Leadership Institute and is a frequent speaker for several bar association conferences and student organizations.

Kathleen Simmons Laurent

Ethics, compliance and privacy officer
Sony Electronics, Inc.

Kathleen Simmons Laurent is the ethics, compliance and privacy officer for Sony Electronics Inc. As such, she is responsible for ensuring that Sony has an effective ethics and compliance program by assessing risks, monitoring relevant legal developments, creating training and communications, developing and enforcing policies, and conducting ethics investigations. She also manages Sony’s Personal Information Management and Corporate Records Management programs. Laurent joined Sony in 1991. Before assuming her current role in 2004, she was senior counsel in the law department where she handled litigation, antitrust, contracts, advertising and other legal matters for various sales, marketing, service and retail client groups. Prior to joining Sony, Laurent worked in the commercial litigation department of Lord, Bissell & Brook and at Amoco Corporation, both in Chicago. She has been involved in many legal and charitable organizations and has received numerous awards over the years. Laurent graduated with a B.A. from Honors College at the University of Michigan in political science and a J.D. from Harvard Law School.

Rosland Fisher McLeod
Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer
Biogen Idec

Rosland Fisher McLeod is vice president and chief compliance officer with Biogen Idec. In this role, McLeod has responsibility for the company’s global corporate compliance program. She oversees the policy development, training, communication, maintenance and monitoring of the organization’s internal compliance processes for all areas of the company. McLeod also has responsibility for internal investigations. She reports to Biogen Idec's chief executive officer and the finance and audit committee of the board of directors. Prior to joining Biogen Idec, McLeod was a health care partner with K&L Gates LLP.  She also has served as the general counsel and chief compliance officer for Novation, LLC and vice president of legal operations for Triad Hospitals, Inc. McLeod is a member of the American Health Lawyers Association and serves on its Diversity Council.  She is also a member of Women Business Leaders of the U. S. Health Care Industry Foundation. McLeod received her B.A. from Southern Methodist University and her J.D. from the University of Houston Law Center. She is licensed to practice law in the state of Texas.

Robbie E.B. Narcisse
Vice President
Global Ethics and Business Practices
Pitney Bowes Inc.

Robbie E.B. Narcisse is the vice president, Global Ethics and Business Practices at Pitney Bowes Inc., where she leads the company's efforts to ensure that its worldwide business operations are conducted in full compliance with all applicable laws and regulations, Pitney Bowes' policies and procedures, and with the highest ethical standards. Prior to her current position, Narcisse served as deputy general counsel - corporate, where she managed a staff of attorneys in the Corporate Legal Department which provided legal advice and counsel to the company's various North American divisions in all aspects of corporate commercial law. She also served as lead in-house counsel for all domestic matters affecting the company's largest division, Global Mailstream Solutions. During her tenure at Pitney Bowes, Narcisse has held succeeding positions of responsibility in the corporate legal department. Prior, to joining Pitney Bowes, she was an associate in the litigation department of Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP. She received her B.A. and M.A. degrees from Stanford University and her J.D. from the University of California's Boalt Hall School of Law.

Jonelle Procope
President & CEO
Apollo Theater Foundation

Jonelle Procope has served as president and chief executive officer of the Apollo Theater Foundation, where she has restructured the organization to expand its capacity to present works of high artistic content, to create more educational opportunities for youth and families in New York City, and to expand the Theater’s base of contributed support. Prior to joining the Apollo, Procope was an attorney in private practice in New York City, specializing in entertainment law in various roles, including vice president of business and legal affairs for Blackground Records; director, business affairs with Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.; and serving as an attorney with Viacom International Inc., where she specialized in entertainment law for all of the company’s divisions, including MTV, Showtime and Viacom Productions. Procope received her B.A. from Howard University and her J.D. from St. John's University.

Juliette Williams Pryor
Executive Vice President
General Counsel and Chief Ethics Officer
U.S. Foodservice

Juliette Williams Pryor is executive vice president, general counsel and chief ethics officer for U.S. Foodservice, Inc., where she is responsible for all legal, risk management and ethics and compliance functions. Before joining U.S. Foodservice, Pryor served as counsel at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP. Before joining Skadden, she was chief legal officer and corporate secretary for e.spire Communications, and served as a legal advisor to the vice chairman of the U.S. International Trade Commission, providing advice and counsel on anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigations and intellectual property rights investigations. Pryor began her career as in-house counsel with IBM Corporation. She received her B.S. from Fisk University, J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center and M.S. from Georgetown University School of Foreign Service.

Kim Y. Richardson
Executive Counsel
The Walt Disney Company

Kim Y. Richardson is executive counsel of the Walt Disney Company’s Corporate Legal Data Privacy Group, where she manages data privacy law counseling and compliance for the domestic and international operations of Disney, including Studio Entertainment, Media Networks, Interactive Media, Parks and Resorts and Disney Consumer Products. Prior to joining the Data Privacy Group, Richardson served as legal counsel for Disney Consumer Products, and was responsible for handling complex domestic and international third party merchandise license agreements, providing counsel to Disney’s brick and mortar and online retail businesses, and overseeing enforcement of Disney’s International Labor Standards for product manufacturing. Prior, she served in the role of production and human resources attorney for Walt Disney Feature Animation. Before moving to Disney, Richardson was a litigation associate with Mitchell Silberberg and Knupp LLP in Los Angeles, where she represented a wide variety of general business and entertainment clients in commercial litigation. Richardson received her B.A. in communications (mass media emphasis) with a specialization in business administration from UCLA, magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa and her J.D. from Harvard Law School.

Teresa Wynn Roseborough
Deputy General Counsel
MetLife Inc.

Teresa Wynn Roseborough is deputy general counsel at MetLife, Inc., and serves as the chief legal officer for its U.S. businesses. Previously, she served as chief counsel for MetLife’s litigation and compliance activities. Before joining MetLife, Roseborough was a partner at Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP. From 1994-96, Roseborough served as deputy assistant attorney general in the Office of Legal Counsel, U.S. Department of Justice. From 1987-88, she served as a law clerk for Justice John Paul Stevens of the United States Supreme Court, having clerked the prior year for Judge James Dickson Phillips, Jr. of the Fourth Circuit. Roseborough is a fellow of the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers and has served as chair of the boards of the American Constitution Society and the Georgia Board of Bar Examiners. She has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia and a master’s degree in education from Boston University. She earned her J.D. with high honors from the University of North Carolina School of Law, where she was the first African-American woman to serve as editor-in-chief of the North Carolina Law Review.

Pallavi Mehta Wahi
Partner
K&L Gates LLP

Pallavi Mehta Wahi is a partner in the Seattle office of K&L Gates LLP, where she practices complex commercial litigation with an emphasis on corporate and intellectual property litigation. Wahi also co-chairs K&L Gates' South Asia Initiative. She also chairs the Seattle office “Circle” group, an associate and peer mentoring group for associates and partners of color. Wahi was a Rule 6 law clerk to the Honorable Commissioner William Ellis at the Washington State Court of Appeals, Division I. Wahi is a current board member and past president of the South Asian Bar Association of Washington (the first woman President) and a past trustee on the Washington State Bar Association Young Lawyer Division Board of Trustees. She has been honored with the 2009 Outstanding Young Lawyer award by the King County Bar Association and was named a "Rising Star," by Washington Law & Politics (2009, 2010). She received her B.A. from St. Stephen's College, New Delhi, India in 1997. She received her B.A. from the University of Cambridge Tripos Law, Magdalene College, Cambridge University in 1999­—automatic conversion to an M.A. in 2003.

Simone Wu
Senior Vice President and General Counsel
XO Holdings

Simone Wu is senior vice president and general counsel of XO Holdings. In this role, she oversees the company's legal affairs, which include commercial, corporate, employment and intellectual property matters, as well as all litigation in which the company is involved. Wu has 20 years of wide-ranging experience in the telecommunications industry, including domestic and international business and corporate development, intellectual property and commercial matters, and legal and regulatory affairs. Prior to joining XO in 2001, Wu held business and legal positions at MCI and AOL among other places, and practiced domestic and international transactional and communications law at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP. She graduated with high honors from the University of Michigan with a degree in political science, and is a graduate and Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar of Columbia University School of Law.