Littler Mendelson P.C. issued the following announcement on June 26.
Littler, the world’s largest employment and labor law practice representing management, has received the Gold Standard Certification from the Women in Law Empowerment Forum (WILEF) for the 10th consecutive year. WILEF grants Gold Standard status to firms that meet objective criteria concerning the number of women among equity partners, in firm leadership positions and in the ranks of their most highly compensated partners. Littler is among the seven firms that have been awarded Gold Standard Certification every year since WILEF began the award in 2011. Additionally, the firm was one of only 23 firms that met all six certification criteria this year.
“We are honored to once again receive the WILEF certification for our continued efforts in creating opportunities for women to be empowered and succeed within our firm,” said Tom Bender and Jeremy Roth, co-managing directors of Littler. “This recognition reinforces our goal of developing and retaining female attorneys at every level of the firm.”
For 2020 Gold Standard Certification, a meaningful percentage means that the firm satisfies the mandatory criterion that:
20% of equity partners or, alternatively, 33% of the attorneys becoming equity partners during the past twelve months are women
Littler – 31.5% equity/64.2% promoted to equity
and at least three of the following five criteria:
15% of firm and U.S. branch office heads are women
Littler – 31.8%
20% of the firm’s primary governance committee are women
Littler – 34.7%
20% of the firm’s compensation committee or its equivalent are women
Littler – 33.3%
15% of the top half of the firm’s equity partners in terms of compensation are women
Littler – 22.7%
10% of women equity partners are women of color or 4% of women equity partners are LGBTQ
Littler – 19.3% women of color/6.4% LGBTQ women
Littler offers a number of programs and initiatives that support the advancement of women and diverse attorneys. Through its Women's Leadership Initiative (WLI), the firm provides structured initiatives and programming dedicated to empowering women to excel professionally. In addition, the firm’s award-winning Career Advocacy Program (CAP) has been instrumental in advancing women from the associate to shareholder level. CAP pairs rising female and ethnically diverse associates (Protégés) with some of the firm’s most influential leaders (Advocates) and general counsel of major corporations (Champions), who encourage their career growth.
Over the past year, Littler has earned several other notable awards for its advanced diversity initiatives and inclusive culture. Recently, the firm was ranked a top law firm in The National Law Journal’s Women in Law Scorecard and by Vault, and was named a Top Firm for Flexible Work Options by Yale Law Women.
Original source can be found here.