CLEO Announces CLEO EDGE Award Honorees for Diversity

Largo, MD – September 12, 2018 – The Council on Legal Education Opportunity, Inc. (CLEO), widely renowned for its mission to increase the number of lawyers from diverse backgrounds, has announced the recipients of the inaugural CLEO EDGE Award in Diversity.  Fifty (50) honorees have been chosen from more than 200 prominent nominees for their accomplishments.CLEO created these recognition awards to promote its focus on the three pillars or characteristics which undergird the organization’s purpose and in recognition of its 50^th anniversary. Those pillars are Education, Diversity, and Greater Equality.

“We are pleased with the response we have received from the legal academy, bar associations, law firms, and other organizations,” said Cassandra Sneed Ogden, Chief Executive Officer of CLEO. “Diversity and inclusion are important to CLEO, the legal profession, and our nation.  We believe these 50 leaders appreciate and value diversity in all its forms.”

These honorees along with those who were selected as honorees in the categories of Education and Greater Equality will be showcased during CLEO’s Awards Gala on November 15, 2018, at the Ritz Carlton-Washington.  Focused on the theme “The CLEO EDGE:  50 Years of Championing Education, Diversity, and Greater Equality,” the gala will also feature the inaugural CLEO EDGE Vernon E. Jordan, Jr. Heritage Award.  Mr. Jordan will personally receive the award in recognition of his more than 50 years of service to the legal profession and the embodiment of all three categories.

For a complete list of the 2018 CLEO EDGE Award Honorees in Diversity, click here: https://cleoinc.org/50/50-for-50/honorees/

About the Council on Legal Education Opportunity, Inc.
CLEO, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization committed to diversifying the legal profession by expanding legal education opportunities for persons from traditionally under-represented racial and ethnic groups, low-income, and disadvantaged communities. Founded in 1968, when the number of lawyers of color was less than one percent, CLEO has produced more than 10,000 individuals who have excelled in every area of the legal profession and include judges, corporate attorneys, law school deans and professors, practitioners, politicians, and more.  2018 is CLEO’s golden anniversary.  More information about CLEO’s 50^th Anniversary, the Diversity nominees, or how to purchase gala tickets can be found at https://cleoinc.org/50/.