The Corporate Counsel Section of the New York State Bar Association is pleased to welcome Section members and visitors. The Section sponsors CLE, networking and other events and offers LinkedIn and Facebook pages where members can reach out to each other with questions and advice.
Contact the Corporate Counsel Section Liaison
To learn more about this Section, please contact Dana Alamia
[email protected]
(518) 487-5607
Please do not contact the Section liaison with a request for legal advice or an attorney referral. You can instead visit our ‘Public Resources’ or ‘Lawyer Referral Service’ page for this type of request.
Yamicha Stephenson, Esq.
Greetings to all,
My name is Yamicha Stephenson, and I am honored to be your Chair! Outside of NYSBA, I am a Manager in the Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Sanctions practice at Deloitte (Deloitte Transactions and Business Analytics LLP) and a former Assistant District Attorney.
I have been involved in the Section since 2010 when I was a summer intern at the New York Power Authority through the Section’s Kenneth G. Standard Diversity Internship Program. After completing my internship, I continued to be involved in the Section and served as the Section’s first Diversity Intern Alumnus Member, co-chair of the 2015 Corporate Counsel Institute, Secretary, Treasurer, Alternate Delegate to the House of Delegates, and Chair-Elect. Through these positions and experiences, I have learned so much about the State Bar, our Section and Members.
This year, our goal is to increase our engagement with our Members, host more virtual social events, and provide an overall added benefit to you.
We hope to “see” you at one of our upcoming events, work with you on one of the Section Committees or read your article in our Section publication, Inside, which is free for Section members!
Please view our site for more details about our upcoming events, Committees and how to publish an article in Inside.
Opportunities to Get Involved
Please consider participating in Section Committees and activities.
Our Section has the following Committees:
- CLE and Meetings Committee
- Diversity Committee
- Diversity Internship Committee
- Membership Committee
- Pro Bono Committee
- Publications Committee
- Technology and New Media Committee
- 2021 Corporate Counsel Institute Planning Committee
If you are interested in joining or learning more about a Committee(s), please reach out to me at [email protected].
We are continually preparing the next issue of Inside.
- If you have a topic in mind, please contact Elizabeth Shampnoi, Editor of Inside, at [email protected].
- We are also seeking law student volunteers to conduct interviews of in-house counsel and to attend and write about Section events.
- This is a terrific opportunity for law students to become more active in the Corporate Counsel Section, network and be published.
Please consider becoming a host company for the Kenneth G. Standard Diversity Internship Program, which is the Section’s paid diversity internship program!
- If your company is interested in being a host company, please reach out to Tatiana Medina, Chair of the Diversity Internship Committee, at [email protected].
- Our past host companies include Ayco, Chubb, Con Edison, Goldman Sachs, PepsiCo, Pfizer, Salesforce, TakeRoot Justice, Unilever and Visiting Nurse Service of New York.
I look forward to working with you!
Yamicha
Yamicha Stephenson, Esq., Chair
Corporate Counsel Section
KENNETH G. STANDARD DIVERSITY INTERNSHIP PROGRAM
Overview of the Diversity Internship Committee
Responsible for administering and managing all aspects of the Section’s Diversity Internship Program, named in honor of former NYSBA President Kenneth G. Standard and his commitment to initiatives aimed at increasing diversity and inclusion in the legal profession.
Overview of the Diversity Internship Program
Since its inception in 2006, more than 100 interns have participated in the Program. The students complete a 10-week internship with an assigned host company and are paid a minimum of $7,000. Host companies have included, among many others in the private and public sectors, Ayco, Con Edison, Pepsi Co., Salesforce, TakeRoot Justice, Unilever, and Urban Justice and Visiting Nurse Service of New York.
The Program’s Goal
To provide students from a diverse range of backgrounds with the experience of in-house legal practice, and to increase such student representation in future corporate legal departments. We offer mentorship, educational and career training to enhance the skills needed in the workplaces of tomorrow. To promote and advance the full and equal participation of attorneys from an under-represented community and to promote knowledge of and respect for the profession in communities that historically have not participated to the fullest extent in the practice of law.
Benefits of Workplace Diversity
Diverse employees can bring together different skill sets, talents, and experiences.
Embracing diversity and inclusion is an important step in the workplace. Through increased diversity, employers can more effectively address societal and member needs with the varied perspectives, experiences, knowledge, information and understanding inherent in a diverse relationship.
Eligibility & Deadlines
Law students who self-identify as under-represented candidates, and who attend an accredited law school in New York State. The program has demanding selection criteria, including minimum GPA requirements and a series of interview rounds, each set by the host company. Students must submit a legal writing sample and a letter of interest. The letter of interest must describe their personal commitment to diversity and inclusion in the legal field, and/or explain how being from an under-represented group has impacted them.
The application deadline, interviews, offer, and program start date vary per each host company. Generally, student application deadlines are due between December and January.
Benefits of Applying to a Summer Position Through the Program
The benefits include (i) exploring different career paths; (ii) developing a network within the corporate environment and among fellow program participants; (iii) receiving cutting-edge, real world experience solving and supporting day-to-day corporate matters; and (iv) gaining a rare and valuable opportunity to jump start their careers in the law by spending their summer in a corporate legal department/non-for-profit agency.
We invite anyone who is interested in learning more about the program to contact the Committee at: [email protected]
Photos of the July 17, 2019 Reception
Photos of the August 16, 2017 Reception
Photos of the August 16, 2016 Reception
Photos of the August 5, 2015 Reception
Photos of the July 23, 2014 Reception
2014 Kenneth G. Standard Internship Program
2013 Kenneth G. Standard Internship Program
ADDITIONAL INTERNSHIPS AVAILABLE
SalesForce
Application Due: February 15, 2021
Visiting Nurse Service of New York
Applications Due: February 19, 2021
Unilever
Applications Due: February 15, 2021
TakeRoot Justice
Applications Due: February 12, 2021
Start Small Think Big
Applications Due: February 12, 2021
Disability Rights of New York
Applications Due: February 15, 2021
PepsiCo
Applications Due: March 15, 2021
Program Archives
Offering Pro Bono Legal Services: A Primer for In House Counsel
(Must be a logged-in NYSBA member to access this program)
