Paul Hastings Selects Leadership Council on Legal Diversity Fellow and Pathfinder for 2024

Paul Hastings LLP has named partner Ronak D. Desai as its 2024 representative to the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD) Fellows Program and associate Caroline Diaz as a member of this year’s LCLD Pathfinder Program.

Desai is a seasoned international investigations, enforcement defense, and compliance attorney who leads the firm’s congressional investigations practice. His extensive experience in both the public and private sectors includes serving as investigative counsel to a high-profile select committee on Capitol Hill and working with both the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations and the House Judiciary Committee. Desai advises clients across a broad range of complex investigative, compliance, crisis management, and public policy matters while also maintaining a practice involving India and the Indian subcontinent, helping U.S. and other multinational clients navigate the unique legal and policy challenges of their cross-border operations. He also counsels Indian companies on matters involving global business operations.

"Being selected for the LCLD Fellows program is a true honor,” said Desai. “I am looking forward to engaging with like-minded leaders, enhancing those skill-sets most important to our clients, and ultimately paying it forward. The program is a potent reminder of Paul Hastings’ commitment to its attorneys and to the broader legal industry.”

Diaz is an associate in the firm’s financial restructuring group, representing large institutional investors, public and private companies, hedge funds, private equity funds, banks, ad hoc committees, official creditor committees, and lenders. Her work includes the structuring, negotiating, financing, and closing of mergers and acquisitions, debt and equity financings, restructurings, and workouts.

“I’m honored to be selected as the firm’s LCLD Pathfinder this year,” said Diaz. “I look forward to learning as much as possible, fostering a culture of strength through diversity, and growing as a young leader and lawyer. The skills and network that I’ll gain and bring back from this experience will be invaluable to me, my firm, and my clients.”

LCLD Fellows are selected by general counsel and managing partners within LCLD Member corporations and law firms. They are seasoned attorneys with eight to 15 years of practice who, through the program, participate in training sessions and engage with managing partners from leading law firms nationwide, as well as prominent legal and business figures from major U.S. corporations.

The LCLD Fellows program offers a platform for participants to glean insights from legal industry leaders as well as specialists in learning and development while also receiving executive coaching. Since its inception, the program has earned acclaim for catapulting participants into prominent legal roles.

The seven-month Pathfinder program targets early-career lawyers affiliated with LCLD Member organizations. It offers participants the chance to garner insights from esteemed leaders in the legal field and career development specialists. Tailored to foster connections and equip promising attorneys from diverse backgrounds with essential leadership skills and networking resources, the program is designed to propel their professional growth.

Founded in 2009, LCLD is comprised of more than 400 corporate chief legal officers and law firm managing partners who are personally committed to creating a diverse legal profession. Read more about LCLD's program here: https://www.lcld.com/