August 15, 2007

Corporate Counsel Elected President of National Bar Association

WASHINGTON, DC - (August 8, 2007) …Vanita Banks, Counsel, Allstate Insurance Company, Northbrook, Illinois, was sworn in as President of the National Bar Association (NBA) on August 3, 2007. Banks is only the second female attorney from corporate America to be elected as NBA President since the organization was founded in 1925.

Banks, a senior corporate counsel and dedicated community advocate, assumed the position of the 65th President of the National Bar Association during its 82nd Annual Convention, held July 28-August 4, 2007, at the Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel in Atlanta, Georgia.

"I am proud and humbled to serve as the 65th President of the National Bar Association, a professional association of talented leaders whose collaborative efforts uplift our communities", said Banks. "I will continue to focus on increasing diversity in the legal profession so that our profession reflects our communities which it serves".

Banks has a long-standing record of tireless dedication to increasing diversity in the legal profession. As a founding member of the Allstate Law & Regulation Department Diversity Committee, her accomplishments include a summer internship program that provides learning and employment opportunities for minority law school students, and a collaborative effort with Allstate's Premier Law Firms that includes working with minority high school students to promote legal career opportunities, mentoring college and law school students, participating in minority job fairs, and providing scholarships.

"So many people whose opinions I highly regard see the same path as I do in the NBA's future", said Banks. "Civic groups, professional and fraternal organizations comprised of people of color have never been so powerful, and at the same time, so needed. The National Bar Association is the natural nexus for cooperative efforts among organizations committed to serving our communities".

Banks earned her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science from Purdue University in West Lafayette, and her Juris Doctor from The Valparaiso University School of Law, in Valparaiso, Indiana. She also received an L.L.M. in Taxation from DePaul University College of Law in Chicago. Banks was recently designated a Purdue University Old Master and is a member of the American Bar Association, Cook County Bar Association, Black Women Lawyers of Chicago and North Shore Labor Counsel. She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and The Links, Incorporated. Vanita Banks is married to businessman James Bly, also a graduate of Purdue University.