Thomas L. Sager, former vice president and general counsel at DuPont, who recently retired after 37 years with the company, and now partner with the law firm of Ballard Spahr, has donated $50,000 to the Minority Corporate Counsel Association (MCCA).
Mr. Sager helped found MCCA in 1997 and serves on the board of directors for the organization, where an annual award has been named in his honor to law firms that have demonstrated sustained commitment to improve the hiring, retention and promotion of minority attorneys.
“The Minority Corporate Counsel Association has consistently demonstrated a commitment to the promotion of diversity in the legal field that matches my own passion,” said Mr. Sager. “I’m pleased to do what I can to help the organization continue its mission."
A career champion of diversity, Mr. Sager was credited by DuPont with helping to pioneer the DuPont Convergence, a policy where it pared down the number of outside law firms representing the company and redefined the way in which law firms measure success, encourage creativity and collaboration, increase efficiency, and retain and promote women and minorities. It has become a standard within the legal industry.
“We are truly honored and humbled by Thomas Sager’s generous donation,” said Joseph K. West, president and CEO of MCCA. “For more than two decades, DuPont has worked to achieve a stronger, more equitable balance of race, ethnicity and gender throughout the organization. Throughout this time, Tom Sager has been a driving force for improving the hiring, retention, promotion, and involvement of minorities and women. His vigilance helped create a growing awareness that the juries, customers, and policy makers that the company dealt with were growing in diversity at a faster pace than its workforce.”