Locke Lord Demonstrates Ongoing Commitment to Diversity and ‎Inclusion and Family-Friendly Focus With Elections of Kyle Davis ‎and Tara Trifon as Partners

(DALLAS and HARTFORD) December 5, 2018 – Reflecting Locke Lord’s continued commitment to diversity and inclusion as well as an emphasis on work-life balance and being a family-friendly place to work, the Firm has elected two women to Partner in this year’s class of seven: Kyle Davis, who was elevated while on maternity leave, and Tara Trifon, who was elevated the same year she returned from maternity leave.

“Kyle’s and Tara’s promotions are definitely unique. They underscore that we take diversity and inclusion very seriously at Locke Lord, and we are making great strides to diversify our ranks in order for the Firm to continue operating at the highest levels, be reflective of the communities in which we live and work, and provide our clients with the highest-quality representation,” said Paulette Brown, Locke Lord’s Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer.

Davis, who is based in the Firm’s Dallas office and a member of Locke Lord’s Real Estate and Real Estate Finance Practice Group, provides counsel to clients in a variety of commercial real estate and finance transactions. She represents financial services companies and other institutional lenders in commercial construction and permanent loans secured by senior health care facilities, multifamily projects, office buildings, retail shopping centers and condominium projects. Davis also has extensive experience in real estate acquisitions and dispositions, commercial leasing, health care, transportation and hospitality transactions, as well as representing developers in connection with the construction and development of multifamily, retail, industrial and mixed-used projects. As an active member of the community, Davis strives to serve as a strong role model for other African-American female attorneys. She is on the Board of Directors of the Dallas Black Dance Theater, a tutor at Esperanza “Hope” Medrano Elementary School, and a member of the Dallas Breakfast Group, the Dallas Association of Young Lawyers and the J.L. Turner Legal Association.

Trifon, who is based in the Firm’s Hartford office and a member of the Litigation Department, represents corporate and financial services clients in a wide variety of complex disputes at all levels of the state and federal court systems throughout the Northeast. She has significant experience handling business and consumer finance litigation, particularly relating to claims of contract breaches, fraud, negligence or violations of unfair trade practices. She also regularly advises clients relating to insurance disputes, class actions, merger and acquisition issues and regulatory matters. Trifon is also active in the Hartford community. She was instrumental in ensuring the success of the 2018 Inaugural Pipeline Program for diverse students, sponsored by the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity. Through this program, Locke Lord hosted a diverse first-year college student. Trifon helped guide the student through a successful summer and will do so again in 2019. She served on the advisory committee for Jr. Apprentice, which is a teen apprenticeship program dedicated to providing teens at urban, public schools with career education and work experience. She also served as a mentor for diverse law students at the University of Connecticut School of Law. Additionally, Trifon is on the Executive Committee for Real Art Ways, the University of Connecticut Law School Alumni Association and the Vassar Club of Hartford. 

Davis’ and Trifon’s promotions to Partner are just the most recent in a long list of examples demonstrating Locke Lord’s cornerstone values of diversity and equality. Already exhibiting a clear commitment to its principles, Locke Lord is signing on to participate in the 2.0 version of the Mansfield Rule. Participating law firms are expected to consider a diverse slate of candidates for a defined list of roles, committees and leadership activities (including, but not limited to, equity partner promotions, lateral partners, practice group and office head leadership and executive committee and/or board of directors). Proudly, Locke Lord already does this. Five offices across the Firm are run by women, including two of its largest offices, Dallas and Houston. Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., are also run by women. Locke Lord has three women on its Firm-wide Executive Committee, including one of three Vice Chairs. A woman and African-American man Co-Chair the Firm’s Board of Directors, of which 10 members are women.

For more information on this year’s Partnership class, click here.

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About Locke Lord LLP
Locke Lord is a full-service law firm with global reach and 20 offices designed to meet clients’ needs around the world. The Firm has a history that spans more than 130 years and is a worldwide leader in the middle market sector. Locke Lord advises clients across a broad spectrum of industries including energy, financial services, fund formation, health care, insurance and reinsurance, private equity and venture capital, public finance, real estate, and technology, media and telecommunications, while providing a wealth of experience through its complex litigation, intellectual property, tax, regulatory and transactional teams.