Speakers: Equality of Opportunity In Action Diversity on Your Legal Team: Why It Matters

Ms. Barrett is Associate General Counsel in the Litigation Group of Genentech in Little Falls, New Jersey where she is responsible for certain product liability, commercial and environmental matters and government investigations. Previously, Ms. Barrett was Counsel in the Litigation Group of Bristol-Myers Squibb Company where she was responsible for certain litigation and government investigations.  Prior to joining BMS, she practiced product liability litigation with a focus on pharmaceutical products and medical devices for a large New Jersey law firm.  She received her A.B., cum laude, in Government & Law and Economics & Business from Lafayette College and her J.D., cum laude, from Washington College of Law, The American University, where she was a member of The American University Journal of International Law and Policy.  She has published and spoken on issues related to pharmaceutical product liability, clinical trials, class actions, alternative dispute resolution and relations between inside and outside counsel. 

Connie Matteo is an Assistant General Counsel at Pfizer in its Civil Litigation Group. Prior to joining Pfizer, Ms. Matteo was Senior Corporate Counsel at Wyeth. Ms. Matteo handles a wide variety of litigated matters including complex commercial disputes, mass torts, securities and antitrust matters. Ms. Matteo also counsels internal clients on issues related to risk prevention and mitigation. In addition, Ms. Matteo is the co-lead of the Legal Division’s Inclusion Workstream and co-lead of Pfizer’s 1L Summer Scholar Program. Before going in-house, Ms. Matteo was a principal of Porzio, Bromberg & Newman in Morristown, New Jersey and a member of the firm's Litigation Department. Her practice focused on complex product liability, pharmaceutical drug and medical device product liability claims. Ms. Matteo has authored a number of articles related to product liability litigation and regulatory compliance. Ms. Matteo has spoken on topics related to litigation, conflict resolution and diversity and equity. She has also been a guest lecturer at two law schools. Ms. Matteo’s professional affiliations include CPR, the Defense Research Institute (“DRI”), the Product Liability Advisory Council “PLAC”) and the Association of Corporate Counsel. Ms. Matteo is the co-chair of CPR’s Healthcare and Life Science Committee, a member of the Steering Committee of DRI’s Drug and Medical Device Committee and a Board Member of PLAC. Ms. Matteo also serves on the Dean’s Board of Advisors for Syracuse University’s College of Arts and Sciences.

Jacqueline K. S. Lee, General Counsel, Flynn Restaurant Group LP. Jacqueline (“Jaci”) Lee represents America’s largest franchisee in a wide range of commercial, real estate, employment, and tort disputes for over 2,300 restaurants nationwide, and provides the Company with strategic counsel on contract, risk management, corporate development, intellectual property, privacy, and employment issues. She is an experienced trial lawyer who has managed all aspects of litigation and has played a lead role in jury and bench trials, as well as arbitration. Jaci has written and spoken extensively on litigation strategy, intellectual property protection and enforcement, and diversity in the legal profession, and her contributions have been recognized by a number of legal publications, including The Legal 500 United States and Northern California Super Lawyers. In 2021, Jaci was named one of San Francisco Business Times’ Most Influential Women in Bay Area Business and honored with Corporate Counsel’s Women, Influence & Power in Law Award for Leadership Through Crisis: Retail & Consumer Goods. Prior to joining Flynn Restaurant Group in 2018, Jaci was a partner in Jones Day’s Silicon Valley office.

Attorney General Thurbert Baker co-leads Dentons' US State Attorney General practice and serves on the US Board. His practice focuses on corporate compliance and investigations, complex state legal and legislative matters, public policy and regulatory affairs, multi-state litigation, public sector procurements and regulatory matters. Attorney General Baker served as the attorney general for the State of Georgia for 13 years under three different governors. He has been consistently selected as one of the "100 Most Influential Georgians" by Georgia Trend Magazine. In 2009 he was the recipient of the first annual Barack Obama Political Leadership award from the National Bar Association for his pioneering achievements as a public servant and an elected official. Men Looking Ahead Magazine recently selected him as its "Man of the Year". In addition to his impact on the state level in Georgia, Attorney General Baker also has a broad national network, having served as the President of the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) from 2006-2007. He has been recognized as one of "America's Top Lawyers" by Black Enterprise Magazine and served for over a decade as NAAG's representative to the American Bar Association's House of Delegates. He has gained respect and cultivated relationships with some of the nation's top governing officials and business leaders through his work with NAAG, Democratic Attorneys General Association (DAGA), Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA) and other organizations. This experience and network of key relationships enables him to effectively advise clients on a wide range of issues involving State Attorneys General, as well as in complex federal legal and legislative matters. Attorney General Baker began his career in politics, spending eight years in the Georgia House of Representatives. He served in Governor Zell Miller's Administration as the House Floor Leader, sponsoring several pieces of significant legislation, including the HOPE Scholarship, awarded to Georgia residents who have demonstrated academic achievement and attend college in Georgia, and legislation to strengthen penalties for repeat violent felons.

Archis A. Parasharami, a litigation partner in Mayer Brown’s Washington DC office, is a co-chair of the firm’s Consumer Litigation & Class Actions practice, recently named by Law360 as a class action group of the year. He also is a member of the firm’s Supreme Court & Appellate practice. Archis routinely defends businesses in class action litigation in federal and state courts around the country. He brings substantial experience to all aspects of complex litigation and class actions, with a particular focus on strategy issues, multidistrict litigation, and critical motions seeking the dismissal of class actions or opposing class certification. He also has helped businesses achieve settlements on highly favorable terms in significant class actions. Archis frequently speaks on developments in the class action arena, and has been quoted on a number of occasions in the National Law Journal, Corporate Counsel, and the Wall Street Journal Law Blog. He is a co-editor of Class Defense, the firm’s blog on key issues affecting class action law and policy. Archis has received several awards recognizing his work on behalf of class action defendants. In 2015, The National Law Journal identified Archis as a “D.C. Rising Star,” one of “40 game-changing lawyers age 40 and under.” In 2013, Archis was selected by Law360 as a “Rising Star” in the field of class action litigation—one of five lawyers to receive that recognition. He also was named by The National Law Journal in 2011 as one of the "Minority 40 Under 40." And he has repeatedly been selected as a Washington DC “Super Lawyer." Archis is one of the nation’s leading lawyers both in drafting arbitration agreements—particularly in the consumer and employment contexts—and in litigating the enforceability of those agreements. Most notably, Archis was one of the Mayer Brown lawyers who represented AT&T Mobility in AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion, in which the US Supreme Court held that the Federal Arbitration Act preempts state-law rules that would refuse to enforce arbitration agreements solely because they waive class actions. Archis represented the company at all stages of the case, starting from the district court all the way to the Supreme Court, where Archis helped write the winning briefs. Along with his colleagues, he represented one of the petitioners in Marmet Health Care Center, Inc. v. Brown, in which the US Supreme Court summarily reversed the West Virginia Supreme Court’s categorical refusal to enforce all pre-dispute arbitration agreements that apply to personal-injury or wrongful-death claims against nursing homes as preempted by federal law. More recently, Archis and other Mayer Brown lawyers obtained a win for the petitioner in Kindred Nursing Centers LP v. Clark, in which the U.S. Supreme Court held that the Federal Arbitration Act preempts a Kentucky rule that requires a power of attorney to expressly refer to arbitration agreements before an attorney-in-fact can bind her principal to an arbitration agreement. Archis maintains a substantial appellate practice, drafting briefs in the US Supreme Court, federal and state appellate courts, and trial courts around the country. Among other things, Archis has prepared merits and amicus briefs in leading appellate cases involving class action and arbitration issues. Archis was one of the counsel who represented the petitioner in Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins, in which the Supreme Court recently held that a lawsuit claiming a bare statutory violation does not satisfy Article III’s injury-in-fact requirement for standing to sue in federal court without allegations of concrete harm. Clients have praised Archis as an “‘outstanding writer, fine oralist, and excellent strategist,’” according to the Legal 500. Archis also advises and represents clients on legislative matters, helping advance substantive business and legal concerns within the public policy-making environment. He has testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on issues relating to class actions and arbitration. While at Mayer Brown, Archis has undertaken a number of pro bono matters, including litigation at the trial and appellate levels and public policy work on human rights issues. He is a former co-chair of the amicus committee of the South Asian Bar Association of North America and served for a number of years on the board of the South Asian Bar Association of the District of Columbia. Archis is a member of the firm’s Committee on Diversity and Inclusion. He joined Mayer Brown in 2003 after clerking for Judge Leonard I. Garth of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

Kimberly is an accomplished leader of global teams with a proven ability to deliver results through others, drive global strategies and initiatives, and align diverse teams around common business goals and practices. She is a seasoned legal professional with experience in both the private law firm and corporate legal environments. In her current General Counsel role, she leads a team of 90 lawyers and legal professionals, sitting in 8 countries, who are responsible for managing Shell’s disputes across the globe. She sits on the Global Legal Leadership Team and formerly supported a Shell subsidiary business as a Board Director. Prior to joining Shell, Kimberly was an associate and later a partner in a private law firm’s Dallas and Houston offices where she handled trial and appellate matters in state and federal courts, garnering numerous published appellate decisions. She is Board certified in Civil Appellate Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. She was voted Best Associate General Counsel in a Large Company by the Houston Business Journal and received the Best Corporate Counsel Award by the National Bar Association, Women Lawyer’s Division. Most recently, she received the Premier Women in Law Award from the Association of Women Attorneys Foundation. Kimberly has served in statewide and local leadership roles such as the Texas Board of Professional Geoscientists, Houston Police Officers’ Civil Service Commission, and the Texas Lyceum Association. She has also served in leadership roles for legal and community-based organizations including the Texas Supreme Court Rules Advisory Committee and the Executive Committee of the Institute for Energy Law. Kimberly is a 1993 graduate of Thurgood Marshall School of Law at Texas Southern University where she was the Class Valedictorian. She and her husband, Jason, enjoy golf, football and eating desserts.