How to Preserve Diversity & Inclusion Investments within the Legal Industry During a Downturn

Natalie Runyon has more than 20 years of experience working and volunteering for multinational organizations, including Thomson Reuters, Goldman Sachs, and the Central Intelligence Agency.

Currently, she is he director of enterprise content for talent, inclusion and culture within the brand marketing function of Thomson Reuters. Before her current role, she ran the strategy and operations team supporting key account programs within the Legal business, and before that, she ran global security in the Americas for 3 years. As a volunteer leader, she has led strategic leadership and change initiatives on the global and local levels for business resource groups at Thomson Reuters.

She completed an Organization Development & Leadership certificate from NYU in April 2016 and is a Certified Leadership Coach.

Audrey Rubin, J.D. has been a successful Chief Operating Officer of global corporate law departments and law firms.

Rubin is Senior Advisor at BarkerGilmore. She recently served as Vice President and C.O.O. of Aon Corporation’s International Law and Compliance Department. As such, Rubin was responsible for all technology, budget, diversity, strategic planning, and process improvement.

Rubin teaches “The Changing Business of Law” at University of Illinois College of Law. She is Faculty at Legal Lean Sigma Institute.

She has been General Counsel and Vice President of Human Resources for global companies, including Grant Thornton and Apollo.

Rubin chaired the Illinois Task Force on Gender Bias in the Courts. She served on the American Bar Association’s Presidential Task Force on Diversity in the Profession.

Currently, she is a member of the specially appointed Chicago Bar Association Task Force on Ethical Rules and Interrupters in the Industry.

She was the focus of Inside Counsel: “Comrades in Ops”, and Crain’s Chicago Business, “How Lawyers are Like Office Supplies”.

She is a frequent speaker and author on diversity & inclusion, legal industry innovations, business development, technology to drive efficiency and cost reductions, and process improvement.

Salila Yohn is an executive coach and talent strategist who advises leaders on how to build inclusive and effective teams and helps professionals at all stages achieve milestone goals. Her background includes leading the HR function of a professional services firm recognized for innovative solutions and the diversity and inclusion function of a global law firm. Prior to following her passion for talent development and HR strategy, she was a corporate lawyer. She is a proud graduate of the Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communication and Penn Law.

Kori focuses on inclusive leadership development, cultural fluency, skill building to mitigate bias, and success strategies for professionals from underrepresented groups to innovate, integrate, and operationalize diversity, inclusion, and belonging into the business and practice of law at Seyfarth.

Kori is the firm's external liaison and ambassador on inclusion and diversity for Seyfarth, along with the firm's national Diversity and Inclusion Action Team (DIAT) co-chairs and firm chair and managing partner leading all efforts of national partnerships and client engagement on inclusion and diversity. She works closely with the firm's executive committee, practice department leaders, the national DIAT, and clients as well as office DIATs, the firm's affinity groups, and the Human Resources, Talent Development, Marketing and Business Development, and Recruiting departments.

Kori is an innovative, collaborative team-builder with success working with diverse personalities, backgrounds, training, education, and experience, and in situations with sensitive and political considerations.