Shellye Pruitt is the firm’s first Senior Director of Attorney Development and Diversity operating at the intersection of attorney development, diversity, inclusion and culture.
Shellye is at the forefront of the career development profession, driving a new, comprehensive approach to managing opportunities for attorneys – one that ensures diversity extends beyond hiring and that inclusivity occurs at all levels of a firm. Shellye’s new role, created by Munger, Tolles & Olson leadership in 2021, will span the talent lifecycle, with a focus on developing programs and policies that support the firm’s deep commitment to diversity and inclusion.
Since joining Munger, Tolles & Olson in 2020, Shellye has collaborated with its leadership to transform the firm’s attorney professional development efforts. Shellye also operates as a culture steward, deploying programs to ensure connectedness across our Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., offices. At the onset of the global pandemic, she worked with members of firm leadership to launch two microsites to help preserve the cultural cohesion central to Munger, Tolles & Olson’s service model, including a tool called “My Virtual Life @ MTO” that was recognized by Law360 as a tool to help lawyers “boost well-being” while working from home. Shellye also serves on Munger, Tolles & Olson’s Diversity Committee and provides leadership to the firm’s Attorneys of Color Initiative, Women’s Initiative, LGBTQ Initiative and its Attorney Parents Group.
Shellye has more than two decades of experience in recruiting, retaining and developing attorneys in the law firm environment. Prior to joining Munger, Tolles & Olson, she held an attorney development leadership role at one of the largest law firms in the world.
Shellye is active in her profession, having previously served as Leadership Counsel for The Posse Foundation. She is a member of the National Association for Law Placement, the Professional Development Consortium, the Association of Legal Administrators, the Greater Los Angeles Association of Legal Administrators, Los Angeles Area Legal Recruitment Association, Partnership UCLA and the Association of Law Firm Diversity Professionals. She has also collaborated on interviewing workshops and writing forums for underserved college-bound students. She previously volunteered for Everybody Wins!, reading to underserved elementary students. Shellye has also led fundraising efforts for The Downtown Women’s Shelter, 1736 Family Crisis Center, The Posse Foundation and The Los Angeles Food Bank.