Gordon & Rees Orange County partner Patricia Lee-Gulley organized a Jan. 30 California Minority Counsel Program lunch for local in-house counsel and general counsel, which drew positive responses and encouragement for more CMCP events in Orange County.
On Jan. 31, Patricia was re-elected as CMCP’s executive secretary at its annual planning retreat held in Irvine. Following the strategy planning retreat, CMCP hosted a networking mixer and program to a standing-room-only crowd at Il Fornaio in Irvine. Patricia was featured as the panelist for majority firms. Other speakers included W. Davis Smith, senior vice president and general counsel of San Diego Gas & Electric, panelist for corporate counsel; and Raul Salinas of AlvardoSmith, panelist for minority firms. Attendees at the mixer also had the opportunity to meet the entire CMCP board of directors, comprised of general counsel and corporate counsel (San Diego Gas & Electric, PG&E, Bank of the West, Microsoft, Wells Fargo, Kaiser) as well as attorneys from the private and public sector to network and learn more about CMCP.
Gordon & Rees has been a long-standing CMCP member. The firm’s involvement with CMCP is led by Patricia, who has served on the board of directors since 2009 and as executive secretary since 2011.
CMCP was created in 1989 in response to the disparity between the percentage of minorities in California’s population and the percentage of minorities in the state’s legal profession. CMCP is dedicated to the promotion and sustainability of diversity in California’s legal profession. The organization focuses on developing professional opportunities for minority attorneys and providing business, legal and lay communities with access to their talent.