Alston & Bird announced that Angela Payne James has rejoined the firm as partner in charge of Diversity & Inclusion. A former Alston & Bird partner, James returns to the firm from Goldman Sachs, where she was global chief of staff for the company’s Technology Division.
As Diversity & Inclusion Partner, James will lead the governance and management of Alston & Bird’s diversity and inclusion initiatives in alignment with the firm’s overall business strategy.
“We are delighted to welcome Angela back to the firm,” said Alston & Bird Chairman and Managing Partner Richard Hays. “Working together with our national and office Diversity & Inclusion leaders, she will play a key role in driving our strategy and ensuring that our tools, training, and other initiatives address our business needs while supporting the well-being and inclusiveness of all our people.”
While at Goldman, James was a key member of the leadership team. In addition to serving on the firm’s Technology Executive Leadership Group and Technology Division Risk Committee, she was a member of the Americas Technology Diversity Committee, Women in Technology, and Firmwide Black Network.
Before joining Goldman in 2016, James was a partner in Alston & Bird’s Litigation & Trial Practice Group. She was a member of the firm’s National Diversity Steering Committee, where she helped develop firmwide diversity strategies, programs, and panels, in addition to serving as chair of the Diversity Committee of the firm’s Atlanta office. James is also a past recipient of the Alston & Bird Diversity Leadership Award.
“I am excited and honored to be rejoining Alston & Bird as the firm’s Diversity & Inclusion Partner,” said James. “I am passionate about working with people to help create and sustain an equitable and inclusive workplace where everyone can connect, contribute, and succeed. I look forward to partnering with all of my new and former colleagues across the firm to continue to build on the core values and collaborative culture that make Alston & Bird the go-to firm for our clients and a great place to work for our people.”
Active in the community, James is a board member of The Women’s Collective and a member of Leadership Atlanta. She is a former board member of the YWCA of Greater Atlanta and Hands On Atlanta and has also served on the Atlanta Advisory Board of the Posse Foundation in addition to volunteering for many civic and community organizations.
Earlier in her career, James served as a judicial clerk on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in Boston, MA.
James earned her J.D. from Harvard Law School and undergraduate degree from Harvard University.