Jackson Walker recently selected Austin partner Jorge Padilla for the 2018 Fellows Program of the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (the LCLD). As a Fellow, Jorge will embark on a training program that will prepare him to build high-value relationships with new clients and serve as a client relationship manager in the Firm.

“Jorge has proven to be a very talented lawyer and a valuable asset to Jackson Walker and its diversity efforts,” Diversity Committee Chairman Bruce Ruzinsky said. “This is a great honor for both Jorge and the firm, and we are proud to be able to continue growing our network of diverse attorneys to be leaders in the legal field.”

Formed in 2009, the LCLD is an organization of more than 275 corporate chief legal officers and law firm managing partners dedicated to creating a truly diverse legal profession. The LCLD’s action programs, which span the journey from law school to partnership, are designed to attract, inspire, and nurture talent in society and within its organizations, thereby helping a new and more diverse generation of attorneys rise to positions of leadership.

Since 2011, the Fellows Program has cultivated high-potential attorneys from diverse backgrounds to build relationships and leadership skills. The program does this by offering participants “a year-long, in-depth program devoted to relationship-building, in-person training, peer-group projects, and extensive contact with LCLD’s top leadership and the best teachers in the business,” according to LCLD President Robert J. Grey, Jr.

Upon completing the professional development series, Fellows are eligible to join the Fellows Alumni Network to help plan and participate in CLE, mentoring, pro bono, and LCLD Member development programs.

From March 2-4, 2018, Jorge will join the 2018 class of Fellows as they gather for their first meeting.

Jorge is among five Jackson Walker attorneys to be named an LCLD Fellow. Past participants include Suzan Kedron, Christopher Mugica, Wasif Qureshi, and Nate St. Clair.

Meet Jorge

Jorge A. Padilla is a partner in Jackson Walker’s litigation section and advises clients on business disputes both before and after litigation has commenced. He has counseled clients in probate, trust, and other fiduciary duty matters, as well as disputes involving the technology, real estate, and healthcare industries. Jorge was elected President-Elect of the Austin Young Lawyers Association and will begin his term as President in the summer of 2018. He is also a Fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation and a member of Leadership Austin’s 2018 Essential class.

Meet JW

Jackson Walker has more than 130 years of experience serving clients in key practices and industries throughout Texas, the United States, and internationally. Since the firm’s founding in 1887, Jackson Walker attorneys have represented some of the most influential companies in the state in industries that shaped the course of Texas history, including railroads, the media, oil and gas exploration, and technology. Since 2012, Jackson Walker has ranked among the top Texas firms in American Lawyer’s Diversity Scorecard, an annual survey of the percentage of diverse attorneys and partners at the nation’s largest firms. Currently, almost a third of the firm’s attorneys are women and nearly twenty percent are minorities. The firm is committed to becoming an even more diverse and inclusive law firm while remaining active in communities in which we practice and continuing to serve our clients throughout Texas, the U.S., and worldwide.