Attracting a diverse talent pool has become a top priority for both law firms and in-house legal departments. While this is a welcome shift in ideological thinking, this hasn’t always been the case. In observance of LGBTQ Pride Month, please join Sidley Austin LLP for a discussion on the evolving experience of life as an LGBTQ lawyer, as we provide insight into being out in the workplace.
Barry M. Parsons from Freddie Mac and Justin Becker from Sidley will host a fireside chat on the experiences and challenges of being out in the workplace, followed by a cocktail reception. Barry will share his journey and insights on coming out at work and to clients, address tips on how to succeed at balancing work and life, and discuss potential obstacles that LGBTQ attorneys face.
AGENDA
5:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Registration
6:00 p.m.
Program
Cocktail reception to follow.
For more information regarding this event, please email dcevents@sidley.com.
Speaker
Barry M. Parsons is Associate General Counsel in the General Litigation & Investigations Department with Freddie Mac in McLean, VA. Barry litigates cases, advises clients, and manages outside counsel on a wide variety of legal matters including employment, contract, intellectual property, insurance, fraud, counterparty receiverships, and antitrust law. He also conducts internal investigations, prepares corporate policies, and advises the company on document retention issues. Barry is a member of the Legal Division’s Diversity and Inclusion and Pro Bono Councils and for two years served as Co-Chairperson of Freddie Mac’s company-wide Pride Network. In 2011, he received the General Counsel’s Impact Award and, in 2012, was unanimously selected to be one of Freddie Mac’s first two fellows to the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity.
Barry is an advocate for advancing diversity in the legal profession. For five years he served on the Board of Directors for the National LGBT Bar Association and for four years was chairperson of its Corporate Counsel Group. Barry was a panelist speaker at the Association’s annual national conferences from 2010 through 2014. For several years he was a panelist speaker at the Minority Corporate Counsel Association’s (“MCCA”) annual national conference and has also served as a member of the Advisory Committee for MCCA’s Annual Meeting. For seven years, Barry was a member of Whitman Walker Clinic’s Legal Services Operating Committee. He previously served on the Washington, D.C. AidsWalk CORE Committee for Legal Services, has attended multiple diversity conferences, and represents pro bono clients in civil rights and, previously, in child custody cases. He regularly serves as a mentor to several law students.
Barry received his J.D., with distinction from the George Mason University School of Law where he was Editor-in-Chief of the George Mason Law Review and a Dean’s Scholar. He also holds a MBA from The American University Kogod School of Business and a B.S. in Economics from King’s College. He has three children and lives in Washington, D.C.
