Executive Board

The National Bar Association recently installed its 2021-2022 Young Lawyers Division executive officers during the 96th Annual National Bar Association Virtual National Convention. Chloe Woods was sworn-in as the Division’s 38th Chair.

Also installed as executive officers were: Ashley Lee as Chair-Elect; Ellise M. Washington as Vice Chair; Amy Depuy as Secretary; Cliff Dawkins as Treasurer; and Simone Hayes as Historian. The National Bar Association is the largest and oldest organization of black judges, lawyers, and law students in the world—with a network of over 60,000 members in the United States, Canada, Morocco, and the Caribbean. Our Young Lawyers Division is comprised of members under 40 years of age, and/or less than 10 years of legal practice.

Join the National Bar Association, Young Lawyers Division by going to nationalbar.org.

Chloé Woods

Chair

Chair@nbayld.org

Chloe R. Woods is an attorney in the Phoenix Office of Gordon & Rees and is a member of the Employment Law, Commercial Litigation, and Bankruptcy, Restructuring & Creditors’ Rights practice groups.

Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Woods maintained a diverse practice, representing clients in state and federal courts, as well as administrative proceedings, holding roles with the United States Postal Service, Assistant Attorney General at the Arizona Attorney General’s Office, Executive Director & General Counsel of the Virgin Islands Bar Association, Judge Advocate in the United States Air Force, Assistant City Counselor for the City of St. Louis, and Corporate Counsel at Peabody Energy Corporation.

Ms. Woods serves as Chair of the National Bar Association Young Lawyers Division. Additionally, Ms. Woods serves as Treasurer of the State Bar of Arizona Young Lawyers Division, Co-Chair of the ABA Minorities in the Profession Committee (MIPC), the Liaison to the Standing Committee on Bar Activities and Services, a Fellow of the Diverse Leaders Academy, the NBA YLD Representative to the ABA YLD, and was presidentially appointed to the Commission on Immigration Advisory Board.

Ms. Woods received her Juris Doctorate from Washington University School of Law in St. Louis, Masters in Policy from Arizona State University, and Bachelor of Arts from Columbia University in the City of New York, where she became a member of Delta Sigma Theta, Sorority, Incorporated.

Recognized within the profession, Ms. Woods is a 2020 graduate of the State Bar of Arizona Bar Leadership Institute, a leadership development program that recognizes promising young lawyers. Ms. Woods was recently selected by the National Bar Association for the 40 Under 40: Nation’s Best Advocates Award, the American Bar Association Young Lawyers Division “On The Rise” Award, Missouri Lawyers Association “Leader of Tomorrow Award,” and as a Fellow of the American Bar Association, an honor only bestowed on 1% of the lawyers in any jurisdiction.

Leadership

Leveraging the power of Young Lawyers as Leaders.

Ashley Lee

Chair-Elect

Chair-elect@nbayld.org

Ashley Lee is currently employed as Associate General Counsel by Coca-Cola Bottlers’ Sales & Services
Company (CCBSS).

Ms. Lee is a graduate of Spelman College and Case Western Reserve University School of Law. While in law
school, Ms. Lee served as President of the Black Law Students Association, a federal judicial extern for The Honorable Judge Benita Y. Pearson, and a legal intern for The Coca-Cola Company. Ms. Lee has spent most of her legal career with The Coca-Cola System. As counsel for The Coca-Cola Company, she has attained diverse legal experiences ranging from being a strategic legal partner in the formation of a new National Product Supply System to managing The Coca-Cola Company’s global trade sanctions and export compliance programs. She currently negotiates complex multimillion-dollar contracts and provides day-to-day legal advice to the CCBSS executive leadership team. CCBSS honored her with the Excellence in Leadership Award in 2018 and 2019.

As a committed voting rights advocate, she frequently writes articles, participates on panels, and appears on radio broadcasts. As the current Election Protection Chair for the National Bar Association Young Lawyers Division, she created multiple voter education guides to encourage voter participation for the 2020 general election and special Georgia runoff election. Ms. Lee utilizes social media to promote voter participation and voter education as the volunteer Social Media Director for the Transformative Justice Coalition (TJC). Under her social media leadership,
Twitter recognized a TJC tweet regarding the Voting Rights Act of 1965 as a “Top Global Tweet.” She also played an instrumental role in the recent National John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Action Day by serving as Co-Chair of the Social Media/Communications Committee and production manager for the five-hour live national broadcast.

Additionally, Ms. Lee is dedicated to philanthropic giving and the collection of Black Fine Art.

Empowerment

Empowering our members to serve. Empowering our communities through service.

Ellise M. Washington

Vice Chair

vice-chair@nbayld.org

Ms. Ellise M. Washington serves as the 2021-2022 Vice Chair of the NBA YLD. Ms. Washington is the Founder and Principal Attorney of EMW LAW, LLC, a Birmingham-based law firm that represents a variety of clients in business and trial matters. A true Birmingham native, Ms. Washington attended Birmingham-Southern College and Samford University’s Cumberland School of Law.

To date, Ms. Washington has tried and/or settled a large number of cases to the satisfaction of her clients. An accomplished attorney, Ms. Washington has received a number of accolades and awards including being named to the National Black Lawyers Top 40 under 40 and a Birmingham Top Attorney by Birmingham Magazine. Ms. Washington was previously an Attorney at a civil rights law firm, and she is currently an Adjunct Professor. Ms. Washington brings a diverse set of skills and talents to the practice of law, and she is proficient in Spanish.

A service-oriented attorney, Ms. Washington’s community involvement includes active participation in volunteer bar associations, pro bono law clinics and nonprofit boards. She has also won numerous awards for excellence and her contributions as a lawyer including being named the inaugural recipient of the White & Case LLP Circle of Excellence word by the National Bar Association’s YLD.

Ms. Washington is an active member of Alpha Kappa Alpha, Sorority Inc., and she enjoys reading, writing, planning events, and spending quality time with family and friends.

Advocacy

Delivering practical legal assistance that will benefit members of our communities and translate to real opportunity and access.

Clifford Dawkins

Treasurer

treasurer@nbayld.org

Clifford D. Dawkins, Jr. is an attorney who represents clients in the Roseland, New Jersey area. Clifford Dawkins, Jr. is recognized by peers and was selected to Rising Stars for 2020 – 2021.

Clifford Dawkins, Jr. chose to pursue a career in law after completing undergraduate studies. He attended Rutgers School of Law – Newark and graduated in 2015. Clifford Dawkins, Jr. passed the bar exam and was admitted to legal practice in 2015.

He represents clients with Employment & Labor: Employer issues in New Jersey. He also represents clients with Employment Litigation: Defense issues.

Being selected to Rising Stars is limited to a small number of attorneys in each state. As one of the few attorneys to garner the distinction of Rising Stars, Clifford Dawkins, Jr. has earned the respect of peers as one of the top-rated attorneys in the nation.

Developing the Pipeline

Increasing opportunities for young lawyers and law students to sustain them as competent professionals in the practice of law.

Amy Depuy

Secretary

secretary@nbayld.org

Amy Depuy is an Associate at Shook, Hardy & Bacon. Amy concentrates her practice in product liability litigation, with a particular emphasis on pharmaceutical and automotive industries. She has handled warranty litigation and catastrophic injury cases for major automotive manufacturers across the U.S., in both state and federal courts. She also has handled litigation involving employment and environmental issues.

During law school, Amy served as a judicial extern for The Honorable Virginia A. Phillips. Chief Judge for the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. She also completed an internship for an international motor vehicle manufacturer.

Outside her practice, Amy mentors law students and works to find and develop clean water projects in the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Mexico. Before joining Shook, she was an associate for Bowman and Brooke LLP in Los Angeles.

#LEADwithYLD

Onika K. Williams

Immediate Past Chair

Ms. Onika Williams served as the 37th Chair of the National Bar Association Young Lawyers Division.

Onika Williams is Of Counsel at Steptoe where she advises clients on compliance and enforcement issues under a variety of federal regulatory agencies and disputes before the Surface Transportation Board (STB). Clients benefit from her experience as a legal advisor in the STB’s Office of Proceedings. While there, she advised the Board in proceedings arising under the ICC Termination Act of 1995, involving questions of statutory, administrative, and constitutional law.

Prior to the STB, Onika served as a Law Clerk at the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission where she advised and assisted three judge boards in adjudicating cases under the Atomic Energy Act, regarding nuclear safety, security, and the environment.

Outside of private practice, Onika is involved with the National Bar Association (NBA). Additionally, she is a Team Editor for Litigation News, an American Bar Association Litigation Section publication.