Will lead newly created Legal, Risk, Compliance, and Government Affairs practice
Diversified Search Group, one of the fastest-growing and most highly regarded companies in the executive search industry, has announced that Sonya Olds Som, Esq., has joined the company as a Global Managing Partner, and will lead the firm’s newly created Legal, Risk, Compliance, and Government Affairs practice. Som is a recognized leader in the legal industry and brings over a decade of experience in executive recruiting, in addition to over a decade as a practicing attorney.
Som will lead search and consulting projects and advise clients in an area that is becoming increasingly important in the corporate sector; recruiting Chief Legal Officers, General Counsels, Deputy General Counsels, other C-Suite and Board members with strong business acumen across industries and locations who are attuned to a myriad of evolving legal, risk and compliance issues. She will work in partnership with the firm’s Chief Legal Officer and Managing Director, Denielle Pemberton-Heard, and other leaders across the firm.
“With a proliferation of new and intensified risks, challenges and opportunities today, companies are seeking deeper levels of legal and compliance expertise and strategy from their executives and board members,” said Aileen K. Alexander, CEO of Diversified Search Group. “Sonya Som brings extensive industry experience and search expertise, a wide and diverse national network aligned with a strong brand and reputation, combined with a mission and values-driven approach that will bring unique value to our clients and candidates as well as to our firm.”
Som joins Diversified Search Group from a leading global executive search firm, where she was a Partner, specializing in recruiting General Counsels, Deputy General Counsels, Chief Diversity Officers, Board Directors and other C-Suite executives. Prior to that, she was a Partner at legal search firm Major, Lindsey & Africa, where she managed the sourcing of attorney search opportunities with global corporate legal departments and led activities firmwide designed to help advance the cause of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion in the legal industry. Prior to embarking upon her career in executive search over a decade ago, Som practiced in the areas of labor & employment and immigration law at the associate and partner levels at large law firms nationwide for over a decade.
“Diversified Search Group is an industry leader in being a purpose-driven, diversity-dedicated, full-service executive search firm that has always been focused on cultivating new leaders across sectors and geographies,” said Som. “I look forward to working with the team to bring this focus to clients with growing needs for executives and board directors with legal, risk, compliance, and/or government affairs expertise who understand the complex and changing dynamics in these areas.”
Som has affiliations with several professional organizations, including the National Bar Association, Hispanic National Bar Association, Metropolitan Black Bar Association (of New York City), and the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association, many of which have honored her for her work in helping diversify the legal profession. She serves as an advisor to several organizations, including as a member of the Cornell Law School Alumni Executive Board of Directors, and as the Midwest Chapter Chair of the Cornell Black Lawyers Alumni Network. She earned her undergraduate degree at Kalamazoo College, and her Juris Doctor degree with specialization in International Legal Affairs and concentration in Business Law at Cornell Law School.
