There were no lawyers in Nayelly Dominguez’s family to help chart a path for her.
Now a corporate lawyer at 7-Eleven, the daughter of Mexican immigrants has built what one nominator calls a “national profile as a champion” for greater representation of Hispanic and Latina lawyers across in-house departments, law firms, bar associations and government roles.
For her influence, the Association of Corporate Counsel’s DFW Chapter and The Texas Lawbook are recognizing Dominguez as one of two award recipients for Achievement in Diversity and Inclusion. A ceremony will be held Jan. 29 at the George W. Bush Institute.
“She is not simply a participant in D&I efforts,” said Pearson counsel Ruth Jeremiah, who nominated Dominguez for the award. “She is a builder of infrastructure, a convener of communities and a driver of change whose impact spans local, national, and cross-organizational levels.”
Dominguez was born in Fort Worth, the youngest of three children of factory workers. Her father was a welder employed by a construction metals manufacturer, and her mother worked at an auto parts factory until it closed, after which she took a job in an elementary school cafeteria.
“My parents are two of the hardest working people I know,” Dominguez said.
Some of her earliest memories include waking up before dawn and being taken to another women’s house where children of working parents were gathered, packed into a small car and carpooled to school so their parents could report for early morning shifts.
Dominguez developed an early love for school. And although her parents had no more than a middle school education, they were immensely supportive of her academic ambitions. She could do anything she put her mind to, they told her, but only through hard work. She was entitled to nothing, they said.
Dominguez excelled academically, and her middle school teachers encouraged her to apply to Fort Worth Country Day, a prestigious private school that today costs more than $30,000 a year to attend. The tuition was far beyond her family’s means. But Dominguez applied for and was awarded a Malone Family Foundation scholarship for promising students, which made her attendance possible.
She struggled initially to fit in with wealthier classmates. But for the first time, she was academically challenged. After recovering from the disappointment of a B grade — the first time she earned anything short of an A — Dominguez rose to the challenges. She learned how to study with intention and discovered a joy in learning, becoming especially passionate about French and government. Over time, she felt less different from her peers and enjoyed their common ground.
Through the school, Dominguez was afforded opportunities to travel internationally and studied abroad in France.
“Attending this prestigious private school not only opened doors for me, but it also expanded my horizons in ways I never thought imaginable,” she said.
Dominguez went on to attend Southern Methodist University, where she earned degrees in management science, economics and French. Although she had been interested in law since age 5 — sparked by attorney characters on Mexican telenovelas and by the esteem afforded lawyers in her family’s hometown of Uriangato — she initially pursued a different career.
She joined the global consulting firm Ernst & Young in Dallas as a risk advisor, where she worked for more than two years and was promoted to senior associate before deciding to attend law school.
While a student at Texas A&M University School of Law, Dominguez founded the Women of Color Collective, an organization that remains active today. She also became deeply involved in the Hispanic National Bar Association, earning her a spot in its IP Leadership Academy Bootcamp and connecting with the Latina Mentoring Project Group. That relationship led her to Microchip Technology Inc. in 2021 — first as an intern and later as a full-time corporate counsel.
Premium Subscriber Q&A: Nayelly Dominguez discusses the traits she seeks in outside counsel, what outside counsel need to know when working with her and more.
“It was not necessarily my goal to end up in-house right away, but when the opportunity arrived, I knew I was prepared,” Dominguez said. “Thanks to my previous career, I have a unique set of skills that I have been able to leverage as in-house counsel. … Having a STEM background, I am also able to understand different technologies in different ways. But most importantly, I know the questions to ask.”
Since then, Dominguez has served as corporate counsel at TTEC Digital and associate counsel at Bain & Company Inc. Last year, she joined 7-Eleven as counsel for information technology. In that role, she works with stakeholders across the company to support its IT infrastructure, drafting and negotiating agreements and helping develop legal strategies around new technology.
“Nayelly exudes strength, competency, and positivity in everything she does at 7-Eleven, said Paul V. Russell, vice president and deputy general counsel. “While she has only been with the company for a relatively short time, it is difficult to overstate the positive impact she has had on the culture within Legal Department and with her clients. She has truly added strength to what was already a strong group of lawyers and legal professionals.”
Dominguez considers building meaningful relationships with business stakeholders among her greatest accomplishments at 7-Eleven.
“As in-house counsel, we are ultimately partners to our business stakeholders. And oftentimes as lawyers, these business skills are the toughest ones to learn,” Dominguez said. “I am happy that I was able to jump back into the business world with ease, but now this time solving problems from a legal perspective.”
Dominguez “builds relationships with ease and elevates the people around her,” 7-Eleven managing counsel Claire Wilson said.
“Beyond her legal skills and DEI advocacy, Nayelly demonstrates the mindset and behaviors of someone who will grow into a highly influential leader,” Wilson said.
Throughout her career, she has remained engaged with industry organizations including the American Bar Association, the National Hispanic Bar Association and the Dallas Women Lawyers Association. In those circles, she is “widely known as a connector,” said Rocio Palomo, partner and co-chair of technology transactions, privacy and cybersecurity at Munck Wilson Mandala.
“She shows up consistently for others — mentoring, connecting people and making herself available in meaningful ways,” Palomo said. “She understands that inclusion is built through relationships and access, not just intention.”
Dominguez serves as awards chair for the Hispanic National Bar Association and as deputy chair of Poder25, a general counsel talent pipeline initiative launched in 2018 with the goal of increasing the number of Hispanic general counsel in Fortune 500 companies to at least 20 by 2025. At the time of its launch, just 1.8 percent of Fortune 500 general counsel identified as Latino, the organization reported.
Her advocacy extends beyond the legal profession. As a member of the ABA’s Commission on Hispanic Legal Rights and Responsibilities, Dominguez has contributed to policy development, research and national programming aimed at expanding representation, eliminating systemic barriers and improving access to justice for Hispanic communities.
Dominguez’s “career demonstrates an unwavering, measurable and deeply influential commitment to advancing diversity, equity and inclusion across the legal profession, within every organization she serves and throughout the communities she uplifts,” Jeremiah said.
Dominguez said 7-Eleven has been “extremely supportive of her diversity efforts. The company sponsors multiple employee resource groups, including 7NEW (Network of Executive Women), 7Pride and 7Hola, which provides skills development seminars and celebrates diversity, Dominguez said.
“I am proud to say that 7-Eleven’s executives and leaders are supporters of these groups and our diversity initiatives, especially as they align with our overall strategic goals, values and leadership principles” Dominguez said. “Ultimately, 7-Eleven has an extremely diverse customer base, and we have to always consider how we will best serve our customers.”
Having a business justification for DEI programs is critical, Dominguez said. She points to studies that show a correlation between diversity initiatives and improved business performance, noting that healthier work environments yield stronger outcomes and that organizations benefit when their workforce reflects society.
Too often, she said, diversity programs are launched merely to check a box. The most effective efforts are aligned with the broader business strategy, she said.
Legal departments still have room to improve their recruitment and retention of diverse talent, Dominguez said. Intentional succession planning — through pipelines that offer meaningful projects in order to advance next-level skills in problem-solving, leadership development and mentorship — is essential.
Navigating her education and career as a first-generation high school and college graduate, and a first-generation lawyer, has not been easy, Dominguez said. But she draws strength from her parents’ sacrifices and work ethic.
“These challenges are nothing compared to coming to a country without speaking the language, with no formal educational background, and planting the seeds to start a new life like my parents did,” Dominguez said.
The same sense of possibility Dominguez first encountered as a student at Fort Worth Country Day now shapes one of her professional missions. Through her work and advocacy, she is creating those conditions for others — environments where hard work, meaningful support and opportunity converge.
“We first-gen and underrepresented students are capable of achieving many things, but the goal is to be in an environment to nurture such possibilities,” Dominguez said. “Grit, resilience and growing through discomfort are in our DNA, as many of us are charting our own path and establishing a foundation upon which future generations can flourish. Allow us to find the tools to succeed, and we will build empires.”
Fun Facts: Nayelly Dominguez
- Favorite book: I absolutely love The Alchemist. It serves as an example of following one’s own dreams and charting our own path, even when we may not quite know where we are going.
- Favorite music group: I love Daddy Yankee and Banda El Recodo — different genres but both are my favorite.
- Favorite movie: I do not have a particularly favorite movie, but I am a huge fan of romantic comedies.
- Favorite food: I love authentic Mexican tacos.
- Favorite beverage: Honestly, I really like water.
- Favorite vacation: I would have to say to Greece. I loved exploring Athens and Mykonos and indulging in delicious food.
- Hero in life: Personally, my dad. He is truly a real-life superman and endured so much, physically and personally, so that I could achieve my American Dream. Professionally, the many Latina lawyers that came before me, the Luminarias, who charted the path to break down barriers and doors so that we could make a difference in this field and ultimately in the world.