Wanji J. Walcott, Esq.

Wanji J. Walcott, Esq.
Managing Counsel
American Express
New York City

Wanji J. Walcott has always been passionate about advocating for herself and for others, so when her father suggested she become a lawyer she followed suit. For nearly 20 years, Walcott has sharpened her legal skills at firms such as Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman L.L.P. and at Lockheed Martin IMS Corp. She received a bachelor’s from Howard University, her juris doctorate from Howard University School of Law, and currently serves as managing counsel at American Express. She supervises a group of 18 lawyers who provide global legal support to the company and its various business units in the areas of complex technology contracts, e-commerce and social media initiatives, data security, outsourcing, real estate and procurement.

Walcott has received numerous professional accolades throughout her career, including from the Lawyer’s Alliance of New York in 2003. In 2012, she won the Council of Urban Professional Change Agent in the Law Award. While she cherishes the accolades she has received to date, she is most proud of being the co-founder of the pro bono department at American Express. “There’s a lot of people who don’t have access to legal services and I feel that I work with a group of smart and talented people whose expertise can really benefit the community,” Walcott remarks. “It’s about identifying a need and fulfilling it.”

When she isn’t hard at work Walcott enjoys spending time with her husband and two daughters, golfing, skiing and playing basketball. She jokes that if she weren’t practicing law, she would be a referee for a living. That’s a dream that will have to wait for a while as Walcott pursues her long-term career goal of becoming general counsel within a Fortune 500 company. To the young women who would like to follow in her footsteps, she offers a simple affirmation: “You can be and do anything you want.”