Askew replaces Jason Brown, who resigned in June to become assistant general counsel at MillerCoors.
Prior to accepting the leadership post at NAMWOLF, Askew was director of the pro bono program at Edwards Wildman Palmer LLP (and held a similar post in the firm’s previous incarnation as Wildman Harrold). Concurrent with his work at the firm, Askew has also served as executive director of the Midwest Minority In-House Counsel Group, which he helped found in 2008 and will continue to work with.
Those roles, as well as nearly five years that Askew spent as deputy chief of the civil rights bureau of the office of the Illinois Attorney General, should provide the new CEO and GC with the foundation he’ll need at NAMWOLF, a Milwaukee-based nonprofit trade association comprised of minority- and women-owned law firms throughout the U.S. The group works with legal departments at large companies and organizations to encourage the use of minority- and women-owned firms as outside counsel.
And just in case Askew isn’t busy enough, he has also maintained his status as a reserve in the U.S. Navy’s Judge Advocate General Corps since 2000. He spent three years as an active-duty JAG in the late 1990s.
In a statement from NAMWOLF, board member Nemeth Burwell said of Askew: “His experience, coupled with his demonstrated passion for promoting the interests of minorities and women, will help NAMWOLF increase its stature as the premier organization of its kind in the legal community.”
Askew said in the statement, “I am excited about the opportunities I see to open even more doors for minority- and women-owned law firms to work with corporate in-house legal departments across the country.”
Askew graduated from Florida A&M University with a B.S. in accounting, and received his J.D. from the University of Iowa Law School.
