Minnesota Lawyer

When Brandon Vaughn began his career as an attorney in 2008, he had at least one advantage over many of his African American peers.

Alice Silkey has been a dedicated champion of diversity and equality in the legal profession since beginning her career in 1986, in what was then largely a male-dominated profession.

As daughter of Vietnamese immigrants who came to the U.S. in the mid-1970s, Chau Espenson was a natural fit for her current role as program manager in strategic initiatives, for the U.S. Bank Law Division’s legal operations team, a newly developed position.

Digital technology has been transforming U.S. health care, helping providers, insurers and patients harness the power of data. Amanda Matchett has been involved in that sea change, as associate general counsel in the health care division of Infor, a St. Paul-based company that develops and sells cloud software.

The year 2020 was one many people won’t soon forget, but Joel Rietz probably has more reason than most to remember the year of the pandemic.

In 2006, a Minnesota businessman, whose company was involved in health care real estate development nationwide for several decades, created a complex estate plan to minimize taxes and maintain flexibility over his assets.

During the COVID-19 pandemic that has disrupted daily life across the U.S., one especially vulnerable population is prisoners in the corrections system — who often live in settings where social distancing is not possible.

David Davenport of the BC Davenport law firm has become the go-to attorney in a very specialized niche practice. In doing so, he’s helped maintain the availability of affordable rental housing for low-income people.

As the daughter of West African immigrants, St. Paul native Adine Momoh has “lived and breathed” diversity and inclusion her entire life.

Minneapolis-based Faegre Drinker has long been active in promoting diversity in the legal profession, according to Lica Tomizuka, a partner in the firm’s real estate group.