Fredrikson & Byron was named one of the 50 “Best Law Firms for Women“ by Working Mother & Flex-Time Lawyers LLC for the fourth consecutive year. This award, founded in 2007, recognizes firms nationwide that are leaders in attracting, retaining and promoting women lawyers. Firms were measured by their workforce representation; flexibility; leadership, compensation and advancement of women; as well as development and retention of women. The recipients of the 2014 Best Law Firms for Women award were announced in the August/September issue of Working Mother magazine.
“We are honored that we continue to be recognized for our efforts in recruiting, retaining and advancing top female attorneys,” said Mary S. Ranum, chair of the firm’s Board of Directors. “We are committed to investing in our young attorneys from the first day they are part of our firm. We have a culture where working mothers can balance their personal and professional lives and build successful practices.”
Two Fredrikson & Byron female shareholders embody this pathway to leadership. Loan T. Huynh, a mother of two, is the chair of Fredrikson’s Diversity Committee. Leigh-Erin Irons, a mother with one young child, serves as the co-chair of the firm’s Associate Hiring Committee, co-chair of the Private Equity Group and past co-chair of the Counsel for Women Group. The Counsel for Women is Fredrikson’s initiative focused on women in business. Huynh and Irons lead groups that are actively focused on recruiting, retaining and advancing younger and diverse attorneys. Their groups collaborate on these critical efforts and their recommendations directly influence firm decisions, strengthening our culture as a place where women thrive from having strong, tangible examples of leadership and success.
“One way Fredrikson is different is that we hire attorneys with the expectation that they will become partners – no one is expendable,” said Irons. “Women are successful here in part because the institutional expectation is that they will be, and also because there isn’t just one way to accomplish and measure that success. There’s an entrepreneurial approach to working at Fredrikson that allows for greater flexibility and control in building and managing your practice.”
Flex-Time Lawyers LLC is an international consulting firm founded by Deborah Epstein Henry in the late 1990s, providing advisory, training and speaking services to employers and professionals on work life balance, retaining and promoting women and new models of legal practice. It provides consulting and speaking services at law firms, corporations, professional service firms, non-profits, bar associations, law schools, conferences and retreats. Flex-Time Lawyers hosts a membership organization, offering quarterly in-person and webcast events on timely issues with prominent speakers. Membership also provides resources, networking opportunities and education about legal industry norms.
Working Mother Media (WMM), a division of Bonnier Corporation, publishes Working Mother magazine and its companion website, workingmother.com. The Working Mother Research Institute, the National Association for Female Executives (NAFE) and Diversity Best Practices are also units within WMM. WMM’s mission is to serve as a champion of culture change. Working Mother magazine reaches 2.2 million readers and is the only national magazine for career-committed mothers.
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