On January 30, 2025, Proskauer attorneys Steve Burwell, Joe Drayton, Atoyia Harris, Sean Spence and Bart Williams joined diversity, equity and inclusion officer Mark Bunbury to host a reception and dinner attended by a small group of Proskauer’s in-house Black Lawyer Affinity Group (BLAG) alumni. The gathering provided an opportunity for alumni to reminisce about their years at Proskauer and meet other BLAG alums with whom they did not overlap.

Attendees included alumni who now work at Adobe, Blue Torch Capital, ESPN, Formation Bio, Hearst Corporation and Johnson & Johnson, among others.

In her opening remarks, Atoyia Harris, special employment law counsel in the Labor and Employment Department and co-chair of BLAG, shared her vision for the evening and hopes for future collaboration.

“I hope each of you comes away with at least one idea for a new collaboration with BLAG. BLAG can partner with you and your respective organizations and, of course, you can collaborate with each other,” said Harris. “I truly hope that this evening marks the beginning of a long journey together where we continually cultivate relationships and find ways to help and be of service to each other.”

For some alumni, the evening also marked a renewed participation in Proskauer events and provided an opportunity to reconnect with former co-workers, reengage with the Firm and meet other BLAG alums.

“I left Proskauer in February 2008,” recalled Yvette Gordon, senior counsel – litigation at ADP. “I hadn’t really been back in any capacity since then. Returning tonight not only provided me with the chance to see my close friend, Rosetta Ellis-Pilie, whose assigned office at Proskauer was next to mine, but also to interact with other BLAG alumni and learn about their post-Proskauer journeys.”