Tunnell honored as “Champion of Diversity”

Columbus, Ohio - Kurt Tunnell, managing partner at the law firm of Bricker & Eckler LLP, has received the “Champion of Diversity Legal Award” from the National Diversity Council.

A variety of awards were distributed at the National Diversity Council’s 4th annual Ohio Diversity and Leadership Conference: DiversityFirstTM – Creating New Opportunities for Your Community. The Council hosted its first annual “Ohio Legal Diversity Luncheon” as part of this year’s conference. Tunnell was one of four Diversity Champion Award recipients. Other honorees were Paul Harris, General Counsel and Secretary at KeyBank; Gilda Spencer, Chief Litigation Counsel at Nationwide Insurance; and Evelyn Sullen Smith, Assistant General Counsel at Mettler-Toledo. Also honored during the two-day event were fifteen women designated as Ohio's Most Powerful & Influential Women in 2011.

As managing partner, Tunnell is responsible for executive leadership of the firm, including continuing the tradition of an organization with a strong history of ground-breaking diversity.

“I am passionate about attracting the absolute best talent from diverse backgrounds together in the pursuit of adding value to our clients and our community,” says Tunnell. “At Bricker & Eckler, we believe that diversity enhances our ability to evaluate problems in our clients’ industries from a fresh viewpoint and to be creative in finding solutions for our clients."

In addition to being Bricker & Eckler’s managing partner, Tunnell has unique expertise in the development and operation of legislative coalitions to advocate public policy goals through the Ohio General Assembly, including service as legislative and legal counsel to the over 200-member Ohio Alliance for Civil Justice which has advocated dramatic and comprehensive tort reform initiatives including medical criteria for asbestos, silica and mixed dust cases. He has significant experience before the Ohio General Assembly and the Administration in representing trade associations and business coalitions in complex and technical public policy debates to develop and implement strategies for the successful enactment of legislation. For more information, please visit Tunnell’s full biography at: http://bit.ly/qf493v.

About Bricker & Eckler LLP
Bricker & Eckler is one of Ohio’s leading law firms. Located in Columbus, Cleveland and Cincinnati-Dayton, the firm represents a wide variety of clients, including businesses and corporations, nonprofit organizations, governmental agencies, health care entities, school districts, municipalities, banks and insurers. For more information, visit www.bricker.com.

National Diversity Council's Mission
The mission of the NDC is to be both a resource and an advocate for the value of diversity and inclusion. The NDC serves as the umbrella organization to support our statewide and regional affiliates, which foster an understanding of diversity and inclusion as a dynamic strategy for business success and community well-being through various initiatives. For more information, visit www.nationaldiversitycouncil.org.