For the third consecutive year, Fredrikson & Byron earned the “2014 Gold Standard Certification” by the Women in Law Empowerment Forum (WILEF), for meeting all six criteria in providing professional opportunities and leadership roles for equity women partners. As reported today in The American Lawyer, only 45 firms earned the WILEF gold standard in 2014. Fredrikson is the only Minnesota headquartered firm on the list. To earn WILEF’s criteria for Gold Standard certification, law firms with 200 or more practicing lawyers in the United States must have met four or more of the following criteria:
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Women account for at least 20 percent of equity partners or alternatively, 33 percent or more of the attorneys becoming equity partners during the past 12 months.
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Women represent at least 10 percent of firm chairs and office managing partners.
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Women make up at least 20 percent of the firm’s primary governance committee.
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Women represent 20 percent or more of the firm’s compensation committee.
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Women make up at least 25 percent of practice group leaders or department heads.
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Women represent at least 10 percent of the top half of the most highly compensated partners.
“Earning this award by meeting all six criteria three years in a row solidifies our reputation as a law firm where women attorneys thrive,” said Mary Ranum, chair of the firm’s Board of Directors. “We are very honored to be recognized again this year.”
According to Women in Law Empowerment Forum’s website “WILEF is dedicated to assisting women in law to assume leadership roles within the NLJ 250 and Fortune 1000 legal departments and within their respective communities. WILEF presents cutting edge programming that provides an educational and networking forum for women in law.”
Fredrikson & Byron is a 275-attorney law firm based in Minneapolis, with offices in Bismarck, Des Moines, Fargo, Monterrey, Mexico, and Shanghai, China. Fredrikson & Byron has a reputation as the firm “where law and business meet”. Our attorneys bring business acumen and entrepreneurial thinking to work with clients, and operate as business advisors and strategic partners, as well as legal counselors. More information about the firm is available at www.fredlaw.com. Follow us on LinkedIn and on Twitter @FredriksonLaw.
Media Contact: Kelly Griffith, Marketing Communications Manager, 612.492.7514, kgriffith@fredlaw.com