ACC today announced the three winners of the 2017 ACC Advocacy Award.
WASHINGTON (APRIL 3, 2017) -- The Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC), a global legal association representing more than 42,000 in-house counsel in 85 countries, today announced corporate lawyers who have demonstrated exceptional leadership and service to the in-house counsel community through advocacy. ACC is pleased to recognize the following winners of the second annual ACC Advocacy Award:
- Dawn Haghighi, general counsel of PCV Murcor Real Estate Services, Hightide Settlement Services and Vendor Resource Mortgage Services, and Laura Dorman, managing director and associate general counsel at Berkeley Research Group, LLC, creators of the ACC Regulatory Working Group
- Paul Lanois, senior legal counsel at Credit Suisse
"From shaping relationships with regulators to raising our visibility in legislative affairs to educating the broader business community on issues affecting in-house law, we are delighted to see the positive impacts this year's award recipients have made in advancing the unique perspective of in-house lawyers across the globe," said Veta T. Richardson, president and CEO of ACC.
Building upon members' strong interest in developing relationships with regulators, Haghighi and Dorman created the ACC Regulatory Working Group, which provides regulators and public officials with an opportunity to update in-house counsel on various regulatory developments in real-time throughout the year. Haghighi and Dorman's efforts have maximized corporate counsel's ability to understand and adjust to new regulations, as well as to educate policymakers about the impact of these roles on their businesses.
"ACC has been an invaluable resource for me over the years, and I am happy to contribute to the programs that benefit its members," Dorman said. "Berkeley Research Group has long recognized the value of ACC and supported my active involvement in the association, for which I thank them. I am delighted to learn, from receiving the Advocacy Award, that my efforts have also benefited my fellow members of ACC."
Dorman and Haghighi organized "Meet Your Regulator" meetings across the United States, including San Francisco, Los Angeles, Dallas, New York, Boston, and Phoenix. These in-person meetings allowed in-house lawyers, members of Congress, and senior officials from the Department of Justice, Department of Homeland Security, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and US Securities and Exchange Commission, among others, to advance the unique perspectives of in-house counsel and have open dialogues about about public policy issues.
"ACC has been part of my entire in-house journey, starting with my first in-house position at Nordstrom," said Haghighi. "Joining ACC is the best career decision I've made. It has proved to be an exceptional resource for me, both personally and professionally."
Paul Lanois' influence is deeply ingrained in educational efforts related to the practice of in-house law throughout Europe. Lanois published a book, title "L'effet extraterritorial de la loi Sarbanes-Oxley," which is listed among the authorized books used by candidates for the French aggregation examination for professorship positions -- the most prestigious civil service competitive examination for the public education system. Lanois also spoke before the French Parliament on transparency in the governance of large companies.
Further, he is considered an industry thought leader on global privacy, cybersecurity, and freedom of expression. He is one of the main contributors to the industry's first guidance for securing Internet of Things (IoT) products, published by the IoT Working Group of the Cloud Security Alliance.
"We live in very exciting times where new technologies create abundant opportunities, but also challenges that in-house counsel will have to tackle," Lanois said. "It means a lot to me that my involvement and educational efforts to raise awareness on legal issues relating to technology, privacy, and cybersecurity have been recognized. I am very grateful to ACC for the kind encouragement and I look forward to serving our community for years to come."
The ACC Advocacy Award will be presented today at the 2017 ACC Mid-Year Meeting in New York during the networking luncheon. For more information on the conference, visit www.acc.com/education/mym.
About ACC: The Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC), is a global legal association that promotes the common professional and business interests of in-house counsel who work for corporations, associations, and other private-sector organizations through information, education, networking, and advocacy. With more than 42,000 members in 85 countries employed by over 10,000 organizations, ACC connects its members to the people and resources necessary for both personal and professional growth. By in-house counsel, for in-house counsel. For more information, visit www.acc.com and follow ACC on Twitter: @ACCinhouse.