On November 14, 2018, Gordon & Rees' Chicago office held its third women's initiative in-house counsel speaker series called "Her Path Forward - Together We Can" which featured Vice President and U.S. General Counsel of McDonald's Corporation, Mahrukh Hussain.
More than 25 women in the legal profession attended this intimate gathering to gain insight from Hussain as she shared her experience of building her career as a lawyer. Guests included women lawyers from Walgreens, McDonald's, CNA Financial Corporation, WellCare Health Plans, Inc., Chicago-Kent, and University of Chicago Medicine. Kim Metrick, President of The Coalition of Women’s Initiatives in Law, a non-profit membership association that brings together law firms, government, and companies of all sizes, also joined the event.
Hussain delivered a personal discussion on the challenges women face while building their careers in the legal profession. Her humble, positive and confident demeanor engaged listeners as she stressed the importance of finding support from others and building your network of peers. She encouraged taking risks and looking for opportunities for growth to remain passionate about your profession. She also emphasized always being practical when advising clients and building business relationships. In closing, she answered questions from the audience and imparted hope for success.
In 2018, the Chicago office hosted its first in the "Her Path Forward - Together We Can" series on April 26 which featured Karen Mayfield Jones, Litigation Counsel at PRA Group, Inc. and the second, on September 20 which featured Jennifer Gust, AGC at Resolute Management.
The Chicago office gives special thanks to the speakers, all of the attendees as well as Gordon & Rees organizers Avanti Bakane, Kelly Milam, Tyler Duff, Nerissa Diaz Moisan, Jimmy Antonopoulos, and Abra Geisler.
Gordon & Rees is a national litigation and business transactions firm with more than 850 lawyers in 52 offices across the United States. Our lawyers provide full service representation to public and private companies ranging from the Fortune 500 to start-ups. Founded in 1974, Gordon & Rees is recognized among the fastest growing and largest law firms in the country. Additionally, in 2018 Law360 ranked the firm among the top 40 largest U.S. firms and The American Lawyer ranked the firm among the top 45 on its Diversity Scorecard.