LEADERSHIP & MENTORING PROGRAM (LAMP)
In order to create an inclusive global professional liability insurance community and provide opportunities for interaction, career development, and advancement for all members, PLUS established the Leadership and Mentoring Program (LAMP).
Under the stewardship of the PLUS Foundation, LAMP aims to increase the leadership skills and influence of individuals who have faced and/or overcome challenges due to lack of resources, extraordinary circumstances, and/or inequitable experiences in the professional liability insurance industry.
This program strives to infuse diversity throughout the highest levels of corporate leadership by developing the skills and connections of program participants, outstanding leaders in their own right, who will fuel organizational success and enhance the effectiveness of the professional liability industry as they advance in their careers..
The 2026 LAMP Cohort application process is now closed.
Welcome 2025 LAMP Cohort:
The LAMP program provides a much needed avenue for diverse candidates to pursue leadership skills, a mentoring relationship, and networking opportunities. The PLUS Foundation’s commitment to equity programming is on full display with this program. This is a highlight in my career.
Aneisha Goldsmith, RPLU
Atrium Insurance Management Services, Ltd.
2019 LAMP Cohort
2025 Excellence in Diversity Award Recipient
Congratulations to Mercedes Colwin, Founding Partner New York City office of Gordon & Rees LLP
Mercedes Colwin, a highly successful trial attorney, is the founding partner of GRSM’s New York City Office. She handles a wide variety of litigation, including employment law, commercial litigation, class actions, products liability, professional liability, wage and hour class actions, defamation and related First Amendment claims, civil rights violations and criminal law. Mercedes has defended thousands of cases throughout the country to a favorable result and won over ninety percent of her numerous trials and arbitrations. She regularly litigates business disputes and defends corporations and executives of Fortune 500 companies accused of wrongdoing, including claims of sexual misconduct. Prior to private practice, Mercedes served as an Administrative Law Judge for the New York State Division of Human Rights. During these nine years of service, while a partner at a major regional New York law firm, she presided over three thousand cases brought under federal and state discrimination laws.
Mercedes has received several significant honors. Forbes Business American Airlines named Mercedes one of the six most influential women in America. The list includes dignitaries such as former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. Notre Dame Law School presented Mercedes with the prestigious Graciela Olivarez Award for outstanding achievement as a leading Hispanic lawyer of the highest ethical and moral standards. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor received the same award. MultiCultural Law magazine also profiled Mercedes in a Leadership Interview titled, Reaching Back to Diversify the Legal Professional. For the last several years, Law Dragon selected Mercedes as one of the leading corporate employment lawyers in the country.
To learn more, please click here.