4/1/05

The D. Augustus Straker Bar Association will host its annual Corporate Counsel Breakfast on Thursday, April 21, 2005 in Southfield. The event will be held at the Skyline Club, 2000 Town Center, Suite 2800, from 7:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. This year's theme is The Urgency of Inclusion: The "Call to Action" Initiative.

The breakfast will consist of a panel discussion focused on "A Call to Action," created in 2004 by Roderick Palmore, Sara Lee General Counsel and adopted by the American Corporate Counsel Association (ACC) and the Minority Corporate Counsel Association (MCCA) by unanimous resolutions. The resolution requests that corporations commit, in writing, to working only with law firms who proactively seek diverse firm members and practice inclusion. The program panelists include the following general counsels and law firm practitioners:

• Richard White, Sr. Vice President and General Counsel and Secretary, The Auto Group (AAA), and ACC Board Member
• Muzette Hill, Managing Counsel, Litigation, Ford Motor Credit Company and ACC Board Member
• Elisa Garcia, Vice President and General Counsel, Dominos, and ACC MI President
• Jacqueline Sellers, Managing Partner, Blackwell Igbanugo, Detroit
• Steven Hilfinger, Managing Partner, Foley & Lardner, Detroit

The Honorable Dennis W. Archer, Chairman, Dickinson Wright, former Mayor of the City of Detroit and Immediate Past President of the American Bar Association, will serve as the moderator for the panel discussion. Special Counsel, the nation's largest legal staffing provider, is co-sponsoring the event.

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