George B. Vashon Innovator Award

To see how nominations were evaluated, download the scorecard templates below.
The scorecard for law firms can be found here.
The scorecard for corporate legal departments can be found here.
About George B. Vashon

As a teenager, alongside his father who was an abolitionist and well-respected leader in the black community, Vashon co-founded the Pittsburgh anti-slavery society in 1838. He attended Oberlin College, where he was the first African-American to receive a bachelor’s degree. After he was denied the right to practice law in Allegheny County, he moved to New York and became the first licensed African-American attorney in that state. Later returning to Pittsburgh, Vashon became a principal at the African-American public school and served as president of Avery College. Vashon moved to Washington, D.C., where he was admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court and, in 1867, became one of the first black professors at Howard University. Vashon died in Mississippi in 1878 during a yellow-fever epidemic.
2020 George B. Vashon Innovator Honorees
2018 George B. Vashon Innovator Honorees
2017 George B. Vashon Innovator Honorees


2017 George B. Vashon Innovator Finalists
Law Firm Finalists



Corporate Law Department Finalists


Past Honorees List
MCCA is proud to honor and distinguish firms that tried something new and succeeded, whether in recruitment and retention, mentoring, pipeline initiatives, LGBT initiatives, or client inclusion feedback. Click here to view the complete list of our past George B. Vashon Innovator Award honorees.