Haynes and Boone, LLP proudly congratulates Associates Punam Kaji and Chris Kang for their selection to the prestigious Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD) Pathfinders and Fellows Programs, respectively.
The LCLD Fellows Program is a highly structured training program designed to build relationships and leadership skills. It works by identifying high-potential attorneys from diverse backgrounds and setting them on the path to leadership in their organizations. More than one thousand mid-career attorneys have completed the program since its inception in 2011.
During his fellowship year, Kang will participate in various activities such as in-person conferences, training in the fine points of legal practice, peer-group projects to foster collaboration and build relationships, and will have extensive contact with LCLD’s top leadership, including the managing partners and general counsel who host the fellows for learning experiences and leadership lunches.
At the firm, Kang advises companies, financial institutions, and private investment funds with respect to complex matters involving employee benefits, ERISA, and executive compensation and is the go-to person for financial institutions and investment funds for practical advice and solutions on ERISA-related matters that will help further their business goals. He also regularly advises both borrowers and lenders with respect to ERISA matters involved in all types of financing transactions, and in connection with corporate mergers and acquisitions, Chris regularly advises both buyers and sellers with respect to employee benefits and compensation issues, including, without limitation, issues related to pension liabilities, health and welfare liabilities, nonqualified deferred compensation obligations, severance obligations, and change in control obligations.
Piloted in 2015, the LCLD Pathfinder Program is designed for diverse, high-potential, early-career attorneys. Kaji will learn from legal industry experts in a variety of fields, as the program uses experiential learning, mentoring, peer networking and other components to provide Pathfinders with practical tools for developing and leveraging professional networks, career development strategies and foundational leadership skills.
Kaji is a member of the firm’s Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) and Workplace Disasters Practice Group and assists clients in complying with federal and state occupational safety and health laws and regulations and in responding to site inspections, work-related injuries, illnesses and other catastrophic events. She routinely advises clients on best practices and reviews employee handbooks, policies, and agreements to ensure compliance with the most current law. Kaji has provided assistance to clients on various employment litigation disputes, including defending against wage and hour claims, defending clients during EEOC and state investigations, handling settlement negotiations for discrimination claims and employment-related torts, assisting in the defense or prosecution of litigation involving non-compete agreements, non-solicitation agreements, and claims of misappropriation of trade secrets, tortious interference, breach of contract, and breach of fiduciary duty.
About the LCLD
Founded in 2009, the LCLD is a growing organization of more than 260 corporate chief legal officers and law firm managing partners who are personally committed to creating a truly diverse legal profession. Our action programs are designed to attract, inspire, and nurture the talent in society and within our organizations, thereby helping a new and more diverse generation of attorneys ascend to positions of leadership. By producing tangible results in the lives of talented individuals, we work to promote inclusiveness in our institutions, our circles of influence, and our society, with the ultimate goal of building a more open and diverse legal profession.