Credited with making Boston a city in which Asian American lawyers and other lawyers of color feel welcome, Goodwin partner Paul W. Lee will be presented with the Boston Bar Association’s Beacon Award for Diversity & Inclusion on Nov. 14.
Lee, founding president of the Asian American Lawyers Association of Massachusetts (AALAM), is a partner in the Business Law Department in Goodwin’s Boston office where he concentrates on corporate and securities law representing high technology and financial services companies.
“Paul’s impact in advancing diversity and inclusion in the legal community can be felt locally as well as nationally,” said Susan Alexander, Chair of the Nominating Committee for the 2013 Beacon Award and Chief Legal Officer, Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Biogen Idec Inc. “What’s equally impressive is that his leadership spans nearly three decades. We applaud him for his work in mentoring scores of Asian American lawyers and prospective judges, and also stand in awe of his continuing legacy as a model for all professionals.”
Lee was hired by Goodwin Procter in 1981. Along with his Goodwin mentor, Richard Soden, a founder of the Massachusetts Black Lawyers Association (MBLA) and past President of the BBA, Lee soon began to play an active role in advancing diversity at the firm and in the legal profession.
“One of the main reasons I became a lawyer is to be part of a profession that promotes justice and equality,” he said. “I believe that in order to be effective in this mission, our profession needs to reflect the diversity of our society, especially those whose rights we are defending.”
The BBA established the Beacon Award for Diversity & Inclusion in 2010 to recognize exceptional leadership on diversity strategies that will have a lasting impact on the Greater Boston legal profession. Past honorees have included GLAD and the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office, Northeastern University School of Law, and MassMutual.
To read more about Lee and this honor, please see the Boston Bar Association’s full press release.