This marks the seventh year for diversity and inclusion honor.
The Women in Law Empowerment Forum (WILEF) recognized Frost Brown Todd’s (FBT) work toward an inclusive environment where everyone has an equal opportunity to succeed with the 2019 Gold Standard Certification. This is the seventh year WILEF honored FBT. In order to receive this certification, WILEF requires law firms to meet certain requirements including having a certain number of women as equity partners, in firm leadership positions, and in the ranks of their most highly compensated partners. Only 45 U.S. law firms made the list.
“The standards WILEF sets for this certification are a great first step to gaining equality in the legal profession,” says FBT’s Women’s Initiative Chair Kim Mauer. “Inclusion on this list validates our initiatives to develop and advance female lawyers and business professionals at our firm. We will continue building a workplace where each person is welcome and included at every level.”
Law firms with 300 or more practicing lawyers in the United States are eligible for the certification if they can demonstrate that women represent a meaningful percentage of their equity partners and highest leadership positions.
Firms are required to meet the mandatory criterion that at least 20% of all equity partners at the firm are women or, alternatively, 33% or more of the attorneys who became equity partners during the past 12 months were women. At FBT, 20% of equity members are female and 46% of the attorneys named equity members in the last year are women. In addition, firms must meet at least three of the following criteria:
- 15% of the firm and U.S. branch office heads are women.
- 20% of the firm’s governance committee are women.
- 20% of the firm’s compensation committee or its equivalent are women.
- 15% of the top half of the firm’s equity partners in terms of compensation are women.
- 7% of women equity partners are women of color or 3.5 percent of women equity partners are LGBT.
FBT met four. The firm’s efforts don’t stop at these numbers. FBT puts emphasis on placing women in all available leadership positions to benefit both the firm and its clients. In 2019, five of the ten new leadership positions were filled by women.
To view all the firms awarded the Gold Standard Certification in 2019, visit http://wileftribune.com/.
About the Women in Law Empowerment Forum
The Women in Law Empowerment Forum (WILEF) is the premier organization for women in law, dedicated to educating women on how to become leaders in their workplace and in the community. Founded in 2007 as a forum to educate and provide networking opportunities, WILEF has become a recognized educational venue for women at the largest law firms and corporate law departments. The Gold Standard Certification initiative is the centerpiece of WILEF’s continued commitment as the change agent for women in law.