Ropes & Gray Co-hosts Law Firm Boot Camp for Minority Associates

Chicago office managing partner Neill Jakobe and former associate Ellen Yiadom Hoover, who helped plan the event.

On March 2, Ropes & Gray’s Chicago office co-hosted the Chicago Committee’s 2018 Associate Law Firm Boot Camp. The annual event aims to give diverse junior associates tips for success at big firms. It also furthers the Chicago Committee’s mission of advancing minority attorneys and transforming the legal profession.

Chicago office managing partner Neill Jakobe spoke to junior associates about the ins and outs of navigating work at a large law firm.

The half-day program included the following three panels: “Navigating Your Firm,” presented by Ropes & Gray Chicago office managing partner Neill Jakobe, K&L Gates partner Michael Martinez and Riley Safer Holmes & Cancila partner Joseph Q. McCoy; “Mentoring, Sponsorship and Professional Development,” presented by Reed Smith partner Maryanne Woo and Bryan Cave associate Faisal Delawalla; and “What I Wish I Knew Then,” presented by Dentons senior managing associate Erin Stach, Drinker Biddle & Reath associate Mita Lakhia, Jenner & Block associate LaRue Robinson and K&L Gates associate Jinwon Jung.

Pictured from left to right: Jennifer Reddien, executive director of The Chicago Committee, Michael Martinez, partner at K&L Gates LLP, Neill Jakobe, office managing partner at Ropes & Gray LLP, Keithan Hedrick, associate at McGuireWoods LLP, Ellen Yiadom Hoover, former associate at Ropes & Gray LLP, Alejandro Montenegro, associate at Bryan Cave LLP and Joseph Q. McCoy, partner at Riley Safer Holmes & Cancila LLP.