Public Finance associate Tomi Ajibodu has been selected as one of 14 associates from among several law firms to participate in the 2023 U.S. Bank Spotlight on Talent program. The year-long cohort experience focuses on growing early-career diverse lawyers through professional and leadership development.

This year’s program kicked off with a virtual session mid-February, followed by an in-person all-day session in Minneapolis at U.S. Bank headquarters on March 21, with networking, leadership and goal-setting activities with bank attorneys and its general counsel and chief diversity officer.

“As we kick off our seventh year of this program, we are more excited than ever to invest in the careers of an impressive group of attorneys through our reimagined, immersive Spotlight on Talent program,” said Jim Chosy, senior executive vice president and general counsel for U.S. Bank. “We’re committed to supporting the advancement of diverse attorneys not only within our own practice, but within our preferred law firms and the broader legal profession, and we’re excited to see how this unique cohort experience helps facilitate that for these lawyers.”

Throughout the year, the cohort will participate in monthly events, including leadership meetings, practice group roundtables, mentoring, and the opportunity to present a CLE to the U.S. Bank Law Division. Spotlight participants also will strengthen their knowledge of the U.S. Bank business and develop stronger relationships with Law Division professionals through attendance at regular meetings.

“I am honored to have been selected to participate in such a great program,” said Ms. Ajibodu. “The Spotlight on Talent program has a track record of developing legal talent, and if the kickoff in Minneapolis is any indication, this year is set to enhance my professional development and strengthen the relationship between U.S. Bank and Kutak Rock.”

Ms. Ajibodu is an associate in the firm’s public finance and secondary markets teams focusing on asset-backed structured financings, synthetic tax-exempt securities, derivatives, municipal securities and general securities and corporate law matters. She also has experience serving as bond counsel and trustee’s counsel on multifamily housing transactions. In 2021 she spent seven months in the Leadership Counsel on Legal Diversity’s (LCLD) Pathfinder Program designed to train early-career attorneys in critical career development strategies including leadership and the building of professional networks.

Cohort participants have three to five years of experience and practice in an area relevant to legal services applicable to U.S. Bank business.

The Spotlight on Talent program will conclude at the end of November.