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Melissa

Melissa McGonigal Berry

Director of Professional Development and Diversity

As Lane Powell’s Director of Professional Development and Diversity, Melissa Berry provides leadership and strategic direction for the firm’s professional development and diversity programs.

Melissa oversees the design, implementation and monitoring of a wide variety of programs related to the professional development of the firm’s attorneys, increasing Lane Powell’s diversity, and fostering an inclusive work environment.

Melissa has an extensive background in legal education and law school student and career services, where she led efforts to help law students from all backgrounds succeed. Melissa began her career as a litigator before turning her focus to professional development, diversity and inclusion.

Professional Experience

University of Washington School of Law

Assistant Dean for Student & Career Services (2017-2019)
Affiliate Instructor (2018-2019)
Director of Graduate Program & Alumni Coaching (2016-2017)
Lecturer (2000-2003)

Chapman University, Dale E. Fowler School of Law

Assistant Dean of Career Services (2014-2016)
Director, Environmental, Land Use & Real Estate Law Emphasis Program (2005-2008)
Associate Professor (2007-2008)
Assistant Professor (2003-2007)

University of Missouri School of Law, Visiting Associate Professor (2013-2014)

MBM Group LLC, Manager (2009-2013)

National Conference of Bar Examiners, Consultant (2005-2008)

Perkins Coie LLP

Associate Attorney (1996-2000)
Community Pro Bono Fellow, TeamChild (2000)

U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, Law Clerk to the Honorable David B. Sentelle (1995)

Latham & Watkins, Associate Attorney (1994-1996)

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, Law Clerk to the Honorable Terence T. Evans (1993-1994)

Community Involvement

Seattle Area Legal Recruiting Association

President (2019)
Vice President (2018)

Mother Attorneys Mentoring Association, Seattle

Board Member (2019-Present)
Co-Chair, Mentorship Committee (2019-Present)

Legal Employers Advancing Diversity of Washington, Board Member,(2017-2019)

National Association of Law Placement

Neurodiversity in the Legal Profession Task Force (2022-Present)
Law Student Professional Development Section, Professional Identity Formation Work Group, Co-Vice Chair (2018-Present)
Legal Master’s Programs Interest Group, Chair (2019-2020)
ABA Employment Outcomes Advisory Group (2018-2019)
Nominating Committee (2018-2019)
Conference Planning Committee (2017-2018)
Public Service Section, Pro Bono Work Group, Co-Chair (2016-2017)

Holloran Center Professional Identity Formation Project, Leadership Competency Working Group (2019-2020)

National Association of Law Student Affairs Professionals, Mentorship Committee, Co-Chair

Association of American Law Schools

Student Services Section, Vice Chair (2019)
Student Services Section, Executive Committee (2018-Present)
Academic Support Section, Program Committee (2018)

Association of Academic Support Educators, Program Committee (2018-2019)

Thought Leadership

November 21, 2022News
Berry Featured in Diverseek Podcast 'DEI in the Legal Profession – A Review of systemic Barriers and Inclusive Leadership'
In the News
November 9, 2022News
Lane Powell Recognized as 2022 Top Performer by Leadership Council on Legal Diversity
Awards & Honors
October 19, 2022News
Lane Powell Achieves Mansfield Rule 5.0 Certification Plus Status
Firm Announcement
July 20, 2022News
Berry Quoted in Thomson Reuters Article 'Practice Innovations: The Evolution of the Summer Program During the Pandemic'
In the News
July 14, 2022Event / CLE
Creating and Supporting High Performance Teams in a Hybrid World
Professional Development Consortium | Denver, Colorado
July 13, 2022News
Lane Powell Joins EsquireWell Academy as a Founding Member
Firm Announcement
July 13, 2022Publication
Doing Well and Being Well - It's Not All in Your Head
National Association for Law Placement, Inc. Bulletin Book Review
April 8, 2022Event / CLE
Keeping It Local: Building Pipelines Through Collaborative Diversity Fellowship Programs
National Association for Law Placement | New Orleans, LA
April 6, 2022News
Berry Appointed to National Association for Law Placement Task Force
In the News
April 6, 2022Event / CLE
Carpe COVID: Re-Imagining PD Programming and Coaching
National Association for Law Placement | New Orleans, LA
January 27, 2022News
Lane Powell Earns Top Rating in 2022 Corporate Equality Index for Sixth Consecutive Year
Awards & Honors
January 26, 2022Event / CLE
Inclusion and Belonging Roundtable
Thomson Reuters | Virtual
December 2, 2021Event / CLE
What Firms Value: Insights from the 2020 Survey of Law Firm Competency Expectations for Associate Development
Professional Development Institute | Washington, D.C.
October 27, 2021News
Lane Powell Recognized as 2021 Top Performer and Compass Award Winner by Leadership Council on Legal Diversity
Awards & Honors
September 13, 2021News
Lane Powell Achieves Mansfield Rule 4.0 Certification Plus Status
Firm Announcement
June 25, 2021News
Berry Co-Authors Report on Competency Expectations for Associate Development
In the News
April 27, 2021Event / CLE
Sneaking in the Veggies: Embedding Well-Being into Professional Development
National Association for Law Placement | Virtual
January 28, 2021News
Lane Powell Once Again Named as One of the Nation’s Best Places to Work for LGBTQ Equality
Awards & Honors
January 13, 2021Event / CLE
Lateral Lawyer Integration
National Association for Law Placement | Virtual
January 11, 2021Publication
Benevolent Stereotyping: Killing Careers with Kindness?
National Association for Law Placement Bulletin
November 24, 2020News
Leadership Council on Legal Diversity Recognizes Lane Powell as 2020 'Top Performer'
Awards & Honors
March 3, 2020Publication
A Primer on Professional Identity Formation
The National Association for Law Placement Bulletin
January 21, 2020News
Lane Powell Earns Top Marks in 2020 Corporate Equality Index for Fourth Consecutive Year
Awards & Honors
January 5, 2020Event / CLE
Post-Graduate Legal Education
Association of American Law Schools Annual Meeting | Washington, D.C.
January 4, 2020Event / CLE
Student Services Panel
Association of American Law Schools Annual Meeting | Washington, D.C.
October 4, 2019 Event / CLE
Putting First Gen First: Supporting First Generation Law Students through Academic Success
Association of Academic Support Educators Bi-Annual Diversity Conference | Chicago
September 12, 2019News
Berry Joins Lane Powell as Director of Professional Development and Diversity
Firm Announcement
July 19, 2019Event / CLE
A Coaching Toolkit for Leaders
Women’s Leadership in Legal Academia Conference | Charlottesville, Virginia
July 11, 2019Event / CLE
Teaching Associates to Manage Chaos and Thrive
Professional Development Consortium Summer Conference | Nashville, Tennessee
June 13, 2019Event / CLE
Fostering First Gen Success From Admissions to Alumni
National Association of Law Student Affairs Professionals Annual Conference | Washington, D.C.
March 29, 2019Event / CLE
Lessons Learned: Career and Student Services
Legal Master’s Programs Annual Conference | Fort Lauderdale, Florida
January 5, 2019Event / CLE
Hot Topics in Student Services
Association of American Law Schools Annual Meeting | New Orleans
January 3, 2019Event / CLE
Fostering Growth Mindset Through UW Resilience Lab
Association of American Law Schools Annual Meeting | New Orleans
June 2018Event / CLE
Gaining Grit: Helping Law Students Build Resilience
National Association of Law Student Affairs Professionals Annual Conference
May 2018Event / CLE
A Coaching Toolkit for Academic Support Professionals: Helping Law Students Build Resilience
Association of Academic Support Educators Annual Conference
March 3, 2018Event / CLE
Failing Forward: Shifting the Mindset
Tulane University’s Women Making Waves Conference | New Orleans
March 2018Event / CLE
Integration Within the Law School and University
Legal Master’s Programs Annual Conference
January 2, 2018Event / CLE
Added Value: Programming for International LLM Professional Development
Association of American Law Schools Annual Meeting
January 1, 2018Event / CLE
Coaching as a Differentiating Strategy
Association of American Law Schools Annual Meeting
June 2, 2017Event / CLE
To Counsel or to Coach? Determining the Best Approach & Practices for Different Settings
National Association of Law Student Affairs Professionals Annual Conference
June 1, 2017Event / CLE
Campus Climate for Non-JD Students: Strategies for Inclusion of Graduate Program & International Students
National Association of Law Student Affairs Professionals Annual Conference
March 2017Event / CLE
Student Support & Campus Climate
Legal Master’s Programs Annual Conference
June 1, 2016Event / CLE
Professional Development: Whose Job Is It?
Institute for Law Teaching & Learning Conference

Education

Northwestern University School of Law, J.D., cum laude
Newcomb College of Tulane University, B.A., Political Science and Latin American Studies, cum laude

Accreditation

Mental Health First Aid Certification (2019)

NALP Coaching 201 Training (2017)

NALP Coaching 101 Training (2016)

Admission

Washington

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