Macey Russell Receives Black Diamond Award from BIHC Network

The Black In House Counsel (BIHC) Network presented Macey Russell with the 2022 Black Diamond Award for his services in finding leading Black legal talent and helping Black in-house lawyers advance their careers.

As described by the BIHC Network, the Black Diamond Award is given to outstanding individuals who promote the careers and aid in the professional advancement of Black in-house lawyers, with the ultimate goal of creating more cohesion for Black in-house lawyers, allowing for meaningful change, and success in advancing DEI in the legal profession and beyond.

A Choate partner of 20 years, Russell is a past chair and active member of the Firm’s diversity committee. But his efforts to build a more welcoming and inclusive legal profession for minority attorneys have branched far outside the firm over the years. Russell speaks at events and conferences all over the country on the subject of increasing the number of attorneys of color entering the profession, and appropriately leveraging their unique skills and perspectives once they are hired by a firm or legal department.

Russell has been an advisory board member of the Institute for Inclusion in the Legal Profession, a think-tank based in Chicago, and was a co-chair of the BBA’s Diversity & Inclusion Section where he supported the formation of the BBA Judicial Internship program with Superior Court Justice Robert Tochka, in addition to developing programs to familiarize minority associates with specific industries and give them the tools to strengthen their business development within their firms. 

The Black In-House Counsel (BIHC) Network works with legal departments and law firms to advance Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the legal profession by creating content, events, networks, and professional development training for corporate legal departments and law firms. A key part of their mission is to showcase the talents of leading lawyers of color in top law firms to in-house legal departments. To learn more about the BIHC Network, please click here.