New York—Roderick A. (Rick) Palmore, a senior counsel with Dentons in Chicago, has been awarded the General Counsel Lifetime Achievement Award by New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) Governance Services for his extraordinary accomplishments as an in-house lawyer.

The NYSE Governance, Risk & Compliance Leadership Awards are given to outstanding companies and individuals who have demonstrated noteworthy efforts in the areas of governance, risk and compliance. The awards underscore the significant role that corporate governance plays in dictating a company’s success and a board’s contribution to long-term value.

“Rick is both an accomplished lawyer and leader in the Governance, Risk and Compliance arena as well as a nationally recognized advocate for diversity in the legal industry,” said Mike McNamara, Managing Partner of Dentons US. “This award, as well as his many other honors and achievements reflect Rick’s truly inspiring commitment to the legal profession.”

With nearly 20 years experience serving as a general counsel and a public company director, Palmore advises public and private corporations and their leadership suites on risk management and governance issues across practices and industry sectors. Prior to joining Dentons, he was executive vice president, general counsel and chief compliance and risk management officer of General Mills Inc. From 1999 to 2008, he was Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of Sara Lee Corporation. Palmore was also a litigation partner with Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal, a Dentons US legacy firm, in the same Chicago office from 1993 to 1996. Earlier in his career he served as an assistant United States attorney for the Northern District of Illinois.

Palmore authored A Call to Action: Diversity in the Legal Profession, a legal industry manifesto urging general counsel to drive diversity by demanding results in the law firms with which they work as well as in their departments. The initiative later grew into the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD), a collaboration between general counsel and managing partners, and which now includes more than 225 corporate chief legal officers and law firm managing partners. Palmore was founding chair of the LCLD's board of directors and continues to serve on its executive committee.

NYSE Governance Services is an integrated suite of resources for public and privately held companies worldwide seeking to create a leadership advantage through corporate governance, risk, ethics, and compliance practices. NYSE Governance Services offers a range of training programs, advisory services, benchmarking analysis and scorecards, exclusive access to peer-to-peer events, and thought leadership on key governance topics for company directors and C-level executives..

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