Alston & Bird is pleased to announce that Rajat Rana, partner in the firm’s Litigation & Trial Practice Group, has been named a Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD) Fellow for 2023.
Designed for lawyers from historically underserved racial and ethnic communities with eight to 15 years of experience, the Fellows Program connects high-potential attorneys with leading general counsel, managing partners, and their peers for mentoring and career guidance. Fellows participate in training sessions and have opportunities to interact with key legal and business leaders of large U.S. corporations as well as managing partners from the country’s most prestigious law firms.
Rana, based in Alston & Bird’s New York office, concentrates his practice on complex litigation matters with an emphasis on arbitration and public international law. His clients include companies based in the U.S., Europe, Africa, and India.
The LCLD has also named Colony Canady, senior associate in the firm’s Real Estate Group and Akiba Chonoles, senior associate in the Finance Group, as members of the 2023 class of Pathfinders.
The Pathfinder Program trains high-performing, early-career attorneys from diverse backgrounds in critical professional development strategies. It includes intensive training, experiential learning, and opportunities to network with peers and esteemed LCLD Fellows in small group gatherings. It provides tools for developing and leveraging internal professional networks, foundational leadership skills, and an increased understanding of career development strategies.
Based in the firm’s Atlanta office, Canady focuses her practice on the financing, acquisition, leasing, and disposition of commercial real estate. Her clients include commercial real estate developers and real estate private equity funds.
Chonoles, working in the firm’s Los Angeles office, represents private equity funds, operating portfolio companies, commercial banks, and other financial institutions. He focuses his practice on various types of secured and unsecured financing transactions.
The Leadership Council on Legal Diversity is an organization of more than 400 corporate chief legal officers and law firm managing partners who are personally committed to creating a more diverse, inclusive, and equitable legal profession. Alston & Bird has been a member of the LCLD since the organization’s founding in 2009.