Richard W. Blackburn, Duke Energy’s executive vice president, general counsel and chief administrative officer, accepted the award at ceremonies held at the Renaissance Dallas Hotel. Also honored were PNM Resources of New Mexico, Florida-based Darden Restaurants and Texas Instruments.

In 2001, Duke Energy launched an initiative, called “PRISM,” which builds a culture for valuing diversity among individuals and ideas. Duke Energy is a strong believer that a rich, diverse employee mix is more powerful in an open culture.

“Diversity is all about ideas. We owe it to our customers and shareholders to capture the best and brightest ideas from people of diverse backgrounds and experiences,” said Blackburn. “We pull those ideas with an open culture where individuals feel valued and all ideas are respected.”

MCCA was founded in 1997 to advocate for expanded hiring, retention and promotion of minority attorneys in corporate law departments and law firms that serve them. MCCA accomplishes its mission through the collection and dissemination of information on diversity in the legal profession. A non-partisan, not-for-profit organization, MCCA continues to strive in providing the industry with a true picture of the state of diversity in today’s corporate law departments and to build a portfolio of best practices that guide law firms and legal departments in the design, implementation and measurement of successful diversity initiatives.

Duke Energy is a diversified multinational energy company with an integrated network of energy assets and expertise. The company manages a dynamic portfolio of natural gas and electric supply, delivery and trading businesses – meeting the energy needs of customers throughout North America and in key markets around the world. Duke Energy, headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is a Fortune 500 company traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol DUK. More information about the company is available on the Internet at: www.duke-energy.com.