Jonathan P. Harmon
Chairman
McGuireWoods
A nationally known trial lawyer, Jon Harmon represents Fortune 500 companies in bet-the-company litigation across the country. His clients include some of the largest U.S. financial institutions as well as telecommunications giants and leading automotive, food and product manufacturers. Companies often call on him to “parachute” into high-exposure cases shortly before trial and he has won verdicts in some of the most difficult, pro-plaintiff venues in the nation.
Harmon graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and served as a U.S. Army first lieutenant in the Middle East during Operation Desert Storm. He was one of five experts appointed to an independent review panel that uncovered systemic failures at Fort Hood following the 2020 disappearance and murder of Spc. Vanessa Guillén. He was instrumental in launching McGuireWoods’ Veteran Lawyers Network, which supports military veterans inside the firm and provides pro bono legal assistance to servicemembers nationwide.
He serves on the board of Pro Bono Institute and participates in McGuireWoods’ pro bono initiatives. He assists clients in an innovative medical-legal partnership with VCU Health and Dominion Energy that serves low-income patients and their families. He is part of the firm’s Appellate Justice Initiative, which seeks out important and emerging constitutional and criminal law issues that unfairly penalize defendants to provide pro bono appellate representation to incarcerated clients. Harmon also is involved in the National Veterans Legal Services Program where he provides legal advice and advocacy to veterans.
For more than 20 years, Harmon has volunteered to teach Bible lessons to juvenile and adult inmates at state and federal corrections facilities.
About McGuireWoods’ Pro Bono Commitment
McGuireWoods lawyers have provided pro bono legal services for more than a century and commitment to our communities is one of the firm’s core values. Representing pro bono clients who could not otherwise afford legal counsel is a vital part of that commitment.
McGuireWoods provides thousands of hours annually in free legal services to handle pro bono work including housing matters, immigration asylum matters, domestic violence restraining orders, benefits representation, court-appointed criminal defense, children’s advocacy, legal representation to veterans and active servicemembers, general counseling for nonprofit groups and more.
Client Pro Bono Partnerships
One way McGuireWoods distinguishes itself with respect to pro bono legal representation is through its innovative pro bono partnerships with clients and other organizations across the country — partnerships the firm began cultivating more than a decade ago. The firm collaborates with more than a dozen clients to provide pro bono legal services that make a true difference in communities.
PBI is grateful to Jon Harmon and McGuireWoods for their pro bono leadership!
To learn more about McGuireWoods’ innovative programs, visit probono.mcguirewoods.com.
Laura Stein
Executive Vice President, Corporate & Legal Affairs
and General Counsel
Mondelēz International
Laura Stein is Executive Vice President, Corporate & Legal Affairs and General Counsel for Mondelēz International, a global snacking leader empowering people to snack right, with iconic brands including Oreo, belVita, and Ritz biscuits; Cadbury, Milka and Toblerone chocolate; Sour Patch Kids candy and Trident gum. In her role, Stein oversees the company’s global legal, compliance, corporate reputation and ESG agendas, including public and government affairs, internal and external corporate communications, sustainability, community, foundation and security efforts.
Before joining Mondelēz International in January 2021, Stein led The Clorox Company’s global corporate affairs and legal functions as Executive Vice President, General Counsel & Corporate Affairs, with oversight of legal, compliance, risk management, internal audit, communications, government affairs, corporate responsibility/ESG, community affairs, crisis management, business continuity and security. She co-sponsored the cybersecurity program and sponsored the women’s employee resource group. Prior to her time at Clorox, Stein served as Senior Vice President and General Counsel at the H.J. Heinz Company, where she had oversight of legal, compliance, enterprise risk management and security matters. She sponsored Heinz’s women’s leadership group and was a director of Heinz Foundation.
Throughout her esteemed career, Stein has exemplified the highest ideals of the citizen-lawyer with her dedication to public service and her passion for equal justice and diversity.
At Mondelēz, Stein and her colleagues partner with purpose-led non-profit organizations and strategic law firm partners to provide pro bono services to youth, immigrants (including the Ukraine Advice Project), the homeless and sexual assault victims, among other pro bono work. Together, they are enhancing Mondelēz ’s global pro bono program, including launching a Latin America pro bono initiative in 2022. At Clorox, Stein had a key role in shaping the company’s corporate responsibility ethos. During her tenure, Clorox’s legal department transformed its pro bono efforts from largely individual pro bono matters worked on after hours to a formal pro bono program. Clorox’s pro bono participation grew to 50% of all U.S. legal staff in 2013, assisting victims of domestic violence, representing tenants in housing disputes, and providing reentry support to formerly incarcerated people, among other initiatives.
Stein has brought her wisdom, business acumen, and leadership to several public interest organizations. She serves on PBI’s Board of Directors and as co-chair of PBI’s Corporate Pro Bono Advisory Board. She has served as chair of Equal Justice Works, the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity, and the ABA Commission on Domestic Violence, and as vice-chair of the East Bay Community Law Center. Stein also has contributed her time and talents to the CEELI Institute (Central and Eastern European Law Initiative), the American Law Institute Council, the Leaders Council of the Legal Service Corporation, and the Advisory Board of the Harvard Law School Center on the Legal Profession, among others.
Stein is a director of JDE Peet’s, a Dutch public company that owns beverage brands, mostly coffee, tea and hot chocolate. She is a former director and former chair of the Pension Investment Committee and the Environmental, Safety and Security Committee of Canadian National Railway. In addition, she is a former director, former lead independent director and former chair of the Corporate Governance Committee of Franklin Resources, Inc., a global investment management organization known as Franklin Templeton, and is also a former director of Nash Finch Company.
Stein received her J.D. from Harvard Law School and is a graduate of Dartmouth College, where she earned her undergraduate and master’s degrees. She has lived in Europe and China and speaks English, Italian, Spanish, Chinese, as well as some French and Portuguese.
PBI is grateful to Laura Stein and Mondelēz International for their pro bono leadership!
Joel Unruch
General Counsel & Corporate Secretary
Accenture
Joel Unruch is Accenture’s General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, responsible for leading the company’s global legal function. With ultimate oversight for all legal support to Accenture, he leads a global team of legal, contract management and government relations professionals. He is also a member of Accenture’s Global Management Committee.
Joel joined Accenture in 2011 as Assistant General Counsel and Assistant Secretary and became Corporate Secretary in June 2015. In addition to his responsibilities as corporate secretary, he oversaw ventures & acquisitions for legal, which includes global acquisitions, dispositions and strategic minority investments. He also led the legal organization’s alliances & ecosystems practice, which drives growth through Accenture’s strategic relationships with partners and suppliers, handled the Global Legal Network—a team that delivers a comprehensive suite of legal services.
Prior to joining Accenture in 2011, he served as Corporate Counsel at Amazon.com and previously worked in the corporate department of the law firm Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP, focusing primarily on mergers and acquisitions transactions as well as corporate securities.
Joel serves on the Leadership Council for Legal Diversity’s Board of Directors and Executive Committee, he sits on the Legal Services Corporation’s Leaders Council and is an active advocate for increasing access to civil legal aid. He is also a member of the General Counsel 50 division of World 50.
He holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree, a Bachelor of Common Law degree and a Bachelor of Civil Law degree from McGill University and a Master of Laws degree from Harvard Law School.
Accenture Legal Access Program Overview
Accenture has a long history of being a responsible business. Accenture staff have contributed approximately 1.3 million hours of their time to making a positive social impact through volunteering, pro bono work, and Accenture Development Partnerships.
In 2019, under the leadership of General Counsel Joel Unruch, Accenture launched a global pro bono program – called Legal Access—to maximize its efforts to increase access to justice.
Since the launch, Legal Access volunteers have contributed over 4,900 pro bono hours across 110 pro bono projectsglobally. With a team of over 3,000 legal professionals across nearly 50 countries, Accenture’s projects represent the diversity of experiences and passions our volunteers bring to the table, and include:
In a quickly changing global context, Accenture’s team stepped in to respond to some of the most urgent needs for pro bono service, including:
PBI is grateful to Joel Unruch and Accenture for their pro bono leadership!
