The Women in Law Empowerment Forum (“WILEF”) is an organization devoted to the education of women in law firms, and furthers its goals by providing networking opportunities for women. Now in its eighth year, WILEF provides Gold Standard Certification to law firms that “successfully demonstrate that women represent a meaningful percentage of their equity partners, of their highest leadership positions, of their governance and compensation committees, and of their most highly compensated partners.”

Let’s see who made the cut for 2014, and what they are doing right.

WILEF Gold Standard Certification

To gain WILEF Gold Standard Certification, law firms must meet four of the six following criteria:

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Though 45 law firms received Gold Standard Certification, only seven law firms met all six criteria, says Above the Law. Here’s a complete list of the firms that made the cut – the seven law firms that met all the criteria are in bold.

Women account for at least 20% of equity partners or alternatively, 33% or more of the attorneys becoming equity partners during the past twelve months.

• Women represent at least 10% of firm chairs and office managing partners.

• Women make up at least 20% of the firm’s primary governance committee.

• Woman represent 20% or more of the firm’s compensation committee.

• Women make up at least 25% of practice group leaders or department heads.

• Women represent at least 10% of the top half of the most highly compensated partners.

Did Your Firm Make the Cut?

So, did you firm make the cut? Are you rushing to get your resume ready to apply to one of the above named firms? Before you make the big leap try to see if there’s any hope at your firm for a shift in corporate culture.

Ballard Spahr Cahill Gordon & Reindel Cooley Covington & Burling Davis Polk & Wardwell Davis Wright Tremaine Dentons DLA Piper Epstein Becker & Green Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner Ford & Harrison Fredrikson & ByronFrost Brown Todd Gibbons Haynes & Boone Hogan Lovells Holland & Hart Holland & Knight Hughes Hubbard & Reed Jackson Lewis K&L Gates Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton Latham & Watkins Littler Mendelson Locke Lord Manatt, Phelps & Phillips McCarter & English McKenna Long & Aldridge Morrison & Foerster Nixon Peabody Norton Rose Fulbright Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe Paul Hastings Perkins Coie Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman Quarles & Brady Reed Smith Schiff Hardin Shook, Hardy & Bacon Sidley Austin Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom Steptoe & Johnson Stoel Rives Sutherland Asbill & Brennan Thompson Hine

Related Resources:

  • 4 Ideas: How Women Can Be Liked AND Successful (FindLaw’s Greedy Associates Blog)
  • Negotiate at Your Own Risk: Women and the Gender Pay Gap (FindLaw’s Greedy Associates Blog)
  • On Female Lawyers at BigLaw and ‘Great Expectations’ (FindLaw’s Greedy Associates Blog)

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