CCBJ: Women in Business & Law

Keynote Address: Inclusive Leadership: Serving the Way to Success in High-Exposure Situations

November 21, 2019

Warwick Hotel
New York, NY

McGuireWoods Chairman, Jon Harmon, will be the keynote speaker at this year’s CCBJ event, discussing the topic “Inclusive Leadership: Serving the Way to Success in High-Exposure Situations.”

As chair one of the world’s biggest and most successful law firms, Jon found himself upon graduation from West Point thrust into combat as a platoon leader in Operation Desert Storm. Facing life-and-death decisions for his troops, including battle-hardened vets who were under fire in Vietnam before he was born, Jon did not pull rank and bark orders. Instead, he stopped, he listened to his men, he trusted in their wisdom, and he pulled his team together to get the job done — in the process forging one of the most successful combat units in Iraq. Jon brings the same leadership style — “servant leadership” — to his work as a trial lawyer known for parachuting into perilous venues to rescue high-stakes cases for major corporations, and to his stewardship of a complex organization facing a highly challenging and disruptive business environment. (And, yes, it is harder to lead more than 1,000 lawyers than it is to lead troops into combat.) As our keynoter, Jon, the only African-American chair of an Am Law 100 firm, provides his unique perspective on the importance of inclusive leadership — in the courtroom, the boardroom, and on the battlefield.

For registration and further information about the event, please visit ccbjournal.com.