Get to Know Litigation Partner Kobi Kennedy Brinson

Litigation partner Kobi Kennedy Brinson joined Winston & Strawn in November 2014. Prior to joining the firm's Charlotte office, Ms. Brinson served as Assistant General Counsel at Bank of America, where she directed responsive strategy for significant litigation and lawsuit-driven media inquiries involving nationwide consumer and small business banking. Her practice at Winston focuses on representing financial services and other clients in litigation and government inquiries, as well as additional regulatory and consumer finance matters.

Get to know Ms. Brinson on a more personal level, from her perspective on diversity to her interests outside of the office, in the following Q&A.

What lessons learned from working in-house do you find to be most beneficial in meeting client needs as their outside counsel?

My experience working in-house enables me to better relate to what clients expect from outside counsel and to bring a clearer understanding of client needs with regard to communication and responsiveness. In particular, clients want their outside lawyers to provide information that’s concise and easily digestible; often firm communications are too lengthy and need to be distilled.

Another important lesson learned is that diversity does matter. Most clients have diverse employees, customers, and shareholders. Inclusive legal teams – in-house and outside – add value far beyond mere optics. Our global economy and business models demand it, so why wouldn’t we want to be ahead of the curve?

Clients value outside counsel that can provide diverse staffing on their matters. What can firms do to help facilitate the retention and promotion of talented women and minority lawyers?

Occasionally, the uninformed falsely assume that diversity and inclusion equate to sacrificing quality. This is absurd and offensive to say the least. I think most sophisticated clients view gender and ethnic diversity as a component of quality outside counsel teams. Clients notice and appreciate when diversity matters to everybody at the firm – not just diverse lawyers and those with diverse clients.

With regard to recruitment and retention, it is critical to have women and lawyers of color involved at every step of the pipeline – from interviewing to integration. When I interviewed at Winston, it was highly impactful that I met with several women partners who were open and honest about firm life from their unique perspectives. Since joining the firm, the continued support enjoyed among the women partners has been transformative. This is one of my favorite things about Winston.

The lateral integration process at Winston has also been extraordinary. The opportunity to visit other offices and make in-person connections across practice areas and time zones is truly what inclusion is all about.

Are there particular initiatives or organizations you’ve been involved in that focus on introducing women and lawyers of color to opportunities in the legal profession?

For me, the number one affinity organization is Corporate Counsel Women of Color. There are more than 3,000 members across the world encompassing in-house counsel who are primarily African-American, Latina, and Asian women. Due to the scope and magnitude of the organization, there are many non-member participants who are neither women nor of color. Another effective organization is LCLD (Leadership Council on Legal Diversity), of which I am a Fellow. Winston is one of the member firms. The LCLD annual meeting, which the firm sponsors, brings together corporate lawyers for business networking, relationship building, and skills development.

ClientFocus' Women’s Rainmaker Roundtable program is another outstanding offering that Winston has provided to a number of its women partners, including me. I’m also pleased to be a new member of the firm’s Diversity Committee.

What is your favorite city for business travel? For vacation?

My favorite place for travel is Martha’s Vineyard. It is such a beautiful place, and for African Americans, it is important socially and culturally. For business travel, I particularly enjoy visiting the West Coast and anywhere that is relatively warm.

What are some of your other pastimes?

I love collecting art, supporting the Charlotte Ballet, and hanging out with my dog, Mike. But my number one pastimes are cheering on my daughter at her gymnastics meets and my son at his soccer games.