Research Triangle Park – Global law firm K&L Gates LLP congratulates the firm’s Research Triangle Park office managing partner Mary Beth Johnston on her selection to the Minority Corporate Counsel Association’s (MCCA) 2021 Rainmakers list. The 15 lawyers recognized on this year’s list are “exceptional diverse attorneys whose business acumen, passion, and dedication to proactive client development have set them apart as leaders in the legal profession.”
 
The 2021 Rainmakers were selected from a prominent group of lawyers with a proven record, over the course of several years, of compiling books of business exceeding $5 million annually and who have contributed significantly to their communities.
 
Pallavi Mehta Wahi, chair of K&L Gates’ firmwide Diversity Committee, remarked: “The firm is a proud partner and member of MCCA. Having Mary Beth recognized as a 2021 Rainmaker is a huge honor and very well deserved. Her diligent approach to her practice and readiness to tackle new issues as they arise with empathy, effort, and an ever-present focus on her clients’ outcomes is clearly exemplified by her pro bono services and community efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Johnston’s receipt of the 2021 MCCA Rainmakers Award follows the inclusion of Portland corporate partner Brendan Gutierrez McDonnell among MCCA’s 2020 Rainmakers.

In addition to her role as managing partner of the firm’s Research Triangle Park office, Johnston is also the co-leader of K&L Gates’ global health care and FDA practice group. She also serves as interim managing partner of the firm’s Nashville office, which she helped to launch earlier this year with the hiring of more than 25 lawyers across a variety of practices. Under Johnston’s leadership, the office has continued to grow, adding another 10 lawyers since its establishment.

Johnston concentrates her practice exclusively in health law, representing major academic medical centers, hospital and health systems, accountable care organizations and provider networks, and pharmacy and clinical laboratory providers.
 
The 2021 MCCA Rainmakers will be honored at MCCA’s 2021 Creating Pathways to Diversity conference and 2021 Diversity Gala taking place in early October.
 
The MCCA is committed to advancing the hiring, retention and promotion of diverse lawyers in law departments and law firms by providing research, best practices, professional development and training; and through pipeline initiatives. It is one of numerous diversity-related programs K&L Gates sponsors or supports, including Diversity Council Australia, Equality Campaign Australia, the Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA), the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA), the National Association of Women Lawyers (NAWL), the National Bar Association, the National LGBT Bar Association, and the Stonewall (UK) Global Diversity Champions Program. To read more about K&L Gates’ commitment and approach to diversity and inclusion, please visit the firm’s website.