Michael R. Komo (33)
Attorney, Professional Development Manager and LGBT Employee Resource Group Chair, K&L Gates

The life of an attorney is usually not one with an abundance of free time, yet Michael Komo serves in a surprising number of capacities outside the courtroom. He’s the chair of the LGBT Rights Committee of the Allegheny County Bar Association, he co-chairs the Community Building Committee of the Pittsburgh Legal Diversity & Inclusion Coalition and he even founded the annual pride celebration for the Pittsburgh Riverhounds Soccer Club, now in its fifth year.

It’s a natural extension of work he’s always done, he says.

“I can do this work because I’m really passionate about it. … Being a zealous advocate for equality is a lifelong passion of mine.”

As a graduate of the FBI Citizens Academy, he started a first-of-its-kind partnership between K&L Gates and the Pittsburgh branch of the FBI, launching an anti-human trafficking committee — another case of advocacy and the legal profession intersecting.

“I try to think of out-of-the-box ways to get underrepresented individuals the legal help that they need,” he says.