John Iino
JD, CPC, CDP
John Iino is a proven change agent, helping individuals and organizations achieve excellence through his experience as a global law firm leader, diversity professional and executive coach. He serves as Reed Smith’s Chief Diversity Officer, leading Reed Smith’s efforts to sponsor and achieve diversity and inclusion in the legal community. Reed Smith (www.reedsmith.com) is a global law firm with over 3,000 employees in 30 offices around the world. Some of the most notable accomplishments during his tenure as CDO:
Recognized as one of the top three major law firms to receive the Thomas Sager Award from
the Minority Corporate Counsel Association for diversity & inclusion programming and
successes (2019)Increased number of women lawyers by 15%; increased number of diverse lawyers by
20% (2016-2019)Decreased attrition of diverse lawyers from 21% to 11% (2016-2019)
John is a Certified Diversity Professional (CDP) from the Institute of Diversity Certification and was recently named one of the Top 50 Chief Diversity Officers in the nation by the National Diversity Council. He is the creator and serves as host of the acclaimed podcast, “Inclusivity Included: Powerful Personal Stories.”
John also is a Certified Professional Coach (CPC), and founder of Cumbre Alta Associates (www.CumbreAltaAssociates.com), a consulting firm focused on business and leadership coaching for lawyers and business executives. He received his coaching certification and training from The Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching (iPEC) and earned their Energy Leadership Index Master Practitioner (ELI-MP) status. His coaching has helped numerous individuals reach their goals and achieve greater awareness.
John previously served as Global Chair of Reed Smith’s Business & Finance Department, overseeing a $400M division of a $1B global law firm. He also served as Chair of the U.S. Corporate & Securities Group and Managing Partner of the Los Angeles office. In 2010, John became the first Asian American to serve on Reed Smith's Executive Committee and Senior Management Team. He previously served as the Chair of Reed Smith's Asian American Affinity Group.
John was recognized as one of the nation’s Top 50 Chief Diversity Officers by the National Diversity Council (2020), a 2020 TOP50 Diversity Star by Diversity Stars, the “Nation’s Best (Western Region)” by Lawyers of Color (2019) and was one of the inaugural recipients of the “DiversityFIRST™” Award from the California Diversity Council (2019). He was named among the top 500 ''Most Influential People in LA'' by the Los Angeles Business Journal (2018) and has been named ''One of the Nation's Most Influential Minority Attorneys'' for two consecutive years (2014-2015). John received the ''Lifetime Achievement Award'' at the Los Angeles Business Journal's Asian Business Awards (2016), the "Volunteer of the Year" Award from Ednovate, Inc. (2019), the Leadership Award from the USC Asian Pacific Alumni Association (2017) and the President's Award from the USC Alumni Association (2017).
He is a frequent speaker and trainer on topics such as diversity and inclusion, inclusive leadership and law firm management.
A message from our Global D&I Chair
Published on June 9, 2020
Chief Diversity Officer | Certified Professional Coach | Diversity Consultant | President-Alumni Assn | Pronouns: he/his
This is an intensely painful moment in what has been an already difficult year. Today, George Floyd is being laid to rest next to his mother, the same mother he cried out for in his final moments while under the knee of a police officer. The United States is hurting. The world is hurting. We are hurting because generations of systemic racism and racial injustice – directed especially toward African Americans – has gone unchecked for too long.
A powerful range of emotions – pain, fear, anger, among them – has taken hold in our country and in our firm, especially among people of color within the Reed Smith family. If you haven’t had an opportunity, please read the public statement by Sandy Thomas, our Global Managing Partner, which reiterates that the firm will not sit idly by in this moment. At Reed Smith, Black Lives Matter. We are a values-led firm, committed to treating everyone with dignity and respect, to prize our differences, and drive progress in our communities and in our firm.
As a global organization, we know that we have the opportunity to help drive progress on racial justice – and we know that our actions will speak louder than our words. We are working with our Senior Management Team on a comprehensive plan to address how we can effect lasting change. This is just the beginning. I invite you to send me your specific thoughts about actions that we can take as a firm or individually.
