Nikki Lewis Simon, J.D. ’99, and former adjunct in the litigation skills externship program, spoke at two events held at the University of Miami School of Law in early March.
The first panel was held at the First-Generation Law Association’s second annual spring reception March 3, giving Miami Law students the opportunity to hear about the experiences of renowned first-generation practitioners and alumni.
Simon, a Greenberg Traurig, P.A. Miami shareholder and chief diversity, equity, and inclusion officer, also spoke on a panel titled “Diversity, Equity & Inclusion in the Workplace” March 8. This panel, co-sponsored by the school’s Student Bar Association, the Asian Pacific American Law Student Association, the Black Law Students Association, the Hispanic Law Students Association, and OUTLaw, provided students an opportunity to hear from practicing leaders in DE&I about how efforts in the space have changed the workplace for diverse attorneys.
“My pre-law and law school experiences in the James Weldon Johnson program, the Student Bar Association, and the Black Law Students Association are just some examples of what helped shape and expand my career goals by exposing me to different types of lawyers and practices,” said Simon. “Each organization and the people in them had a variety of perspectives about life and the law that were helpful to me in formulating my own direction.”
As chief DE&I officer, Simon designs and guides strategic initiatives and programs to deepen firmwide diversity and inclusion efforts that further enrich client engagements and community investments. Before assuming primary responsibilities on the business side of the firm, she represented her cross-industry clients’ business objectives by protecting their capital – human, intellectual, and financial – against claims of wrongdoing in complex commercial and class action litigation. Those matters have spanned the panoply of issues and claims businesses often face, from discrimination to wrongful death, defamation to fraud and misrepresentation, professional negligence, and malpractice to breach of fiduciary duty and securities law violations.
Simon serves as a member of UM Law’s alumni association board of directors and has served as an adjunct professor at its Litigation Externship Program.
“The Miami Law network has been an ongoing resource for advice and opportunities throughout all stages of my career,” Simon said.
“For example, I work with dozens of UM Law alumni at my firm and often communicate with other alumni through my service in The Florida Bar, the Gwen S. Cherry Black Women Lawyers Association, the Dade County Bar Association, and other organizations. The UM Law network is an essential resource, when it comes to creating opportunities for me and others to be engaged in the legal, business, and civic landscapes.”
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