PHILADLEPHIA, February 29, 2024 — Cozen O’Connor named three members of the firm as representatives to the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD) for 2024. James Billings-Kang, a member of Cozen O’Connor’s Litigation Department, has been named a fellow for 2024. Tatiana Mejia-Uribe, an associate in the firm’s Real Estate Group, and Elizabeth Olivera, an associate in the Immigration Policy & Strategy Group, have been named LCLD pathfinders.
The LCLD Fellows program offers high-potential, mid-career attorneys from diverse backgrounds at LCLD member organizations with professional and personal development opportunities as well as leadership training, relationship-building resources, and access to other LCLD members, including managing partners and general counsel, for mentoring and guidance. LCLD fellows — practicing attorneys with eight to 15 years of experience — participate in training sessions and are given opportunities to interact with managing partners from the country’s most prestigious law firms as well as key legal and business leaders of large U.S. corporations.
The seven-month Pathfinder program provides participants with the opportunity to learn from top leaders in the legal profession as well as career development experts and is designed to connect and train high-potential, early-career attorneys from diverse backgrounds with foundational leadership skills and relationship-building resources. Conceived as a supplement to training initiatives already in place at LCLD member corporations and law firms, the Pathfinder program offers practical tools for developing and leveraging internal professional networks, leadership skills, and an understanding of career development strategies. In addition to full-class programming, participants are placed in small groups led by a program facilitator who serves as a mentor to help each pathfinder connect what they learn to the organization at which they work.
Billings-Kang focuses his practice on litigation in the health care industry. In particular, he represents health systems, hospitals, and drug and device companies in litigation against private insurers, the federal government and state programs, and defending health care clients in high-stakes federal and state agency investigations and litigation, including actions involving False Claims Act, qui tam, Anti-Kickback, Stark Law, and Sunshine Act claims. In addition to his health care practice, Billings-Kang maintains an extensive practice in other complex litigation matters. With nearly two decades of trial and appellate experience, he represents clients with issues related to products liability, real estate, contract disputes, franchise, trade secrets and non-competes, securities, consumer finance, statutory rights, torts, and digital ledger technology.
Mejia-Uribe represents developers, investors, operators, purchasers, sellers, borrowers, and lenders in real estate transactions, including acquisitions and dispositions, financings, development, leasing, and joint ventures and partnerships involving residential, commercial, retail, hospitality, and mixed-use properties. Mejia-Uribe is experienced with drafting, negotiating, and reviewing purchase and sale agreements, financing documents, leases, and joint venture documents.
Olivera's practice focuses on employment-based immigration for institutional clients and multinational corporations from a wide variety of industries, including technology, engineering, manufacturing, and utilities. She assists clients in acquiring employment-based visas for key employees so they will be authorized for employment in the U.S. Olivera serves on the board of governors for the National Filipino American Lawyers Association as alternate regional governor for the Central Region and as co-chair of the Young Lawyers Committee. She also serves on the board of directors of the Filipino American Lawyers Association of Chicago.
The Leadership Council on Legal Diversity is an organization of more than 400 corporate chief legal officers and law firm managing partners who have pledged themselves to creating a truly diverse U.S. legal profession. Its programs are designed to attract, inspire, and nurture talent to help a new and more diverse generation of attorneys ascend to positions of leadership. By producing tangible results in participating institutions, participants work to promote inclusiveness in their organizations, circles of influence, and society, with the ultimate goal of building a more equitable and diverse legal profession.