Alston & Bird LLP is pleased to announce that Angela Payne James is the recipient of the firm’s 2006 Diversity Leadership Award. The award recognizes exemplary service on behalf of Alston & Bird’s diversity initiatives. Ms. Payne is a partner in the firm’s IP Litigation Group and is resident in the Atlanta office.
Angela received the award in recognition of her leadership of the firm’s Atlanta Diversity Committee. Under her direction, the committee designed and implemented a liaison program to ensure effective mentoring of minority attorneys. She also oversaw the development and implementation of a strategic plan for the Atlanta office and allocated and managed funding for diversity conferences, sponsorships, organizations and events. Angela helped launch a practice group leader program to increase the awareness of issues facing diverse associates and provided practice groups leaders with ideas for retention and recruitment while at the same time increasing the leaders’ accountability for diversity. Angela represented the firm at the Atlanta Legal Diversity Consortium’s Symposium, the American Institute for Managing Diversity’s training and serves on the steering committee for the State Bar of Georgia Diversity Program.
Ms. Payne is a board member for Hands On Atlanta and is a leader in facilitating Alston & Bird’s partnership at Walden Middle School.