Denver (30-August-2010) - Regina M. Rodriguez, a partner in the Faegre & Benson LLP product liability practice, has been accepted to the first-ever Latina Executive Leadership Program—an initiative sponsored jointly by the Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA) and the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC).

Through the HNBA–ACC Latina Executive Leadership Program, an estimated 50 Latina HNBA members from the private sector and several chief legal officers will collaborate on financial and case management education while benefitting from networking opportunities.

Designed to address challenges unique to Latina lawyers and to help level the playing field in a male-dominated profession, the program will build skills that are aligned with the value-based approach clients are bringing to their purchase of legal services.

The first training and networking session of the program will take place this month in Minneapolis prior to the start of HNBA 35th Annual Convention, which runs from September 8 through 10. The second session will take place in Houston, Texas, in October to coincide with the annual conference of the ACC.

Through this executive leadership program, the HNBA is addressing recommendations identified in its national study and report Few and Far Between: The Reality of Latina Lawyers. Finding that Latinas—who make up 7 percent of the total U.S. population—represent only 1.3 percent of the nation's lawyers and .04 percent of partners in large law firms, the report recommended the development of opportunities and programs to assist Latina lawyers at all phases of their education and careers.

Rodriguez is an experienced trial lawyer who focuses on defense of medical drug and device cases. Prior to joining the firm in 2002, she was chief of the civil division in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Colorado.