Award Recognizes Influential Black Men Who Lead and Promote Thriving Workplaces and Communities
ORLANDO, Florida, September 26, 2024—Duane Morris LLP Partner and Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer Joseph K. West will be recognized by ONYX Magazine as a 2024 Man of Honor. The fifth annual awards celebrate the achievements of the most influential and impactful Black men in Florida and the United States. West will participate in a ceremony recognizing all honorees and award winners on September 28 at the Rosen Centre Hotel in Orlando. ONYX Magazine will also award scholarships to young men pursuing higher education.
Joseph K. West is an experienced trial lawyer, having tried hundreds of matters to resolution over the course of his career. He is former Associate General Counsel at Walmart Stores Inc. and in 2009 was named the National Bar Association’s Outside Counsel of the Year as a result of his work in Walmart’s Class Action/Complex Litigation Group and as head of the company’s Outside Counsel Management Group. He is former CEO of the Minority Corporate Counsel Association. While at MCCA, he oversaw the organization’s research portfolio, assisted with the increase in diverse general counsel and launched the first-of-its-kind implicit bias training program. His leadership resulted in a threefold increase in the organization’s membership. West is immediate past chairman of the ABA Council on Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar, the body that oversees law school accreditation and bar admissions nationwide. He also co-chaired the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, serves as a member of the board of trustees of Xavier University of Louisiana and is a member of the board of the Black Entertainment and Sports Lawyers Association. His heroic efforts to assist dying patients during Hurricane Katrina was recently portrayed onstage in New York by his longtime friend and client Laurence Fishburne in the one-man play “Like They Do in the Movies.”
In 2019, West was named the inaugural recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award for Equality and Inclusion by Chambers & Partners. He has been named several times to the Savoy Magazine list of Most Influential Lawyers and in 2024 was inducted into the Tulane Law School Hall of Fame. In 2024, West also received both the President’s Award as well as the Cora T. Walker Corporate Partnership Award from the National Bar Association. He currently serves as Duane Morris’ Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer and leads the firm’s first-of-its-kind Diversity and Inclusion Consulting Practice, which he helped to establish. He also serves as a member of Duane Morris’ managing Partners Board and co-chairs the firm’s ESG task force. A partner in the firm's Trial Practice Group, West practices in the area of complex litigation, handling a variety of matters in areas including class actions, insurance, commercial litigation, zoning and land use, catastrophic injury, products liability, and labor and employment.
About ONYX Magazine
ONYX Magazine is the premier publication that celebrates Black achievement throughout Florida. Launched in 1997, the Orlando-based magazine remains committed to empowering its readers by offering entertaining, inspiring and informative stories and editorials focused primarily on the interests of Black people in America, while promoting seamless, diversified connections with other cultures. ONYX Magazine hosts the annual Women on the Move event, which honors trailblazing Black women across Florida during Women's History Month; Men of Honor, an event to recognize Florida’s most influential Black men; and the ONYX Business Connect, which brings together corporations and grassroots organization for shared enterprise opportunities. ONYX Magazine also is the parent of the ONYX Awards, which champions the astounding contributions African Americans have made to their local and global communities. In 2017, ONYX established the ONYX Foundation to enhance awareness of literacy, the arts, Black history and financial well-being.
About Duane Morris
Duane Morris LLP provides innovative solutions to today’s multifaceted legal and business challenges through the collegial and collaborative culture of its more than 900 attorneys in offices across the United States and internationally. The firm represents a broad array of clients spanning all major practices and industries. BTI Consulting has recognized Duane Morris as both a client service leader and a highly recommended law firm.
