Drake Law School graduates Charles Monterio, Jr., LW’04, and Shannon Redd, LW’10 have been named to the Lawyers of Color Hot List, a group of 100 exceptional early- to mid-career minority attorneys under 40 from the Mid-Atlantic Region who are excelling in the legal profession.
Mr. Monterio and Ms. Redd, along with other honorees, will be profiled in Lawyers of Color’s inaugural Hot List Special Issue in July 2013.
The honorees were chosen by a selection committee, which reviewed nominations from mentors, peers, and colleagues, and researched bar publications and legal blogs in order to identify promising candidates.
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Charles Monterio, an associate in Dickstein Shapiro’s Intellectual Property Practice, focuses primarily on patent litigation dealing with a variety of technologies, but mainly concentrates in the field of mechanical patents ranging from simple mechanical devices to the highly complex. He also has experience in patent portfolio counseling and prosecution concentrating in the fields of biotechnology, chemical and mechanical, electrical and design, and plant patents.
In April, Mr. Monterio was selected by Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD) for its 2013 Fellows Program. The Fellows Program identifies high-potential attorneys from diverse backgrounds and is designed to increase diversity at the leadership levels of U.S. law firms and corporate legal departments. Specifically, LCLD has developed innovative programs to address pipeline issues that face the profession, encouraging minorities and women to enter the law, and supplying programs to increase their likelihood of success in law school and beyond.
Shannon C. Redd is the staff attorney and training manager for the D.C. Bar Pro Bono Program. Shannon coordinates training programs to prepare volunteer attorneys to handle pro bono matters. She serves as a liaison to several committees and subcommittees of the D.C. Bar’s Standing Committee on Pro Bono working to close the access to justice gap within the District of Columbia’s indigent community.
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Shannon is a member of the District of Columbia Bar Association, the National Bar Association, serving as co-chair of the 2013 Expungement Task Force, and the Greater Washington Area Chapter of the Women Lawyers’ Division of the National Bar Association, serving as chair of the 2013 Charlotte E. Ray Reception recognizing outstanding African American women attorneys. In her spare time, Shannon also volunteers with other local legal services organizations providing brief legal information and advice to people living in poverty.
Shannon is particularly proud of her involvement with Whitman-Walker Health as a volunteer attorney, where she assists transgendered clients to legally change their name and gender. Shannon credits her experience as a student attorney in Drake Law School’s legal clinic for igniting her passion for public service.
“We are proud of Charles and Shannon,” says Drake Law School Dean Allan Vestal, “and are gratified that their personal dedication and professional accomplishments are being recognized this way.”
Honorees will be featured in the July 2013 Lawyers of Color’s Hot List Special Issue.
Lawyers of Color, which was founded as On Being A Black Lawyer, has been recognized by the American Bar Association, National Black Law Students Association, and National Association of Black Journalists. Founded in 2008 as a news and resource center, the company has grown into a social media firm providing research, career development, and brand marketing opportunities to clients.