TC achieves third consecutive Gold Standard Certification for empowering women

For the third year in a row, Thompson Coburn has received “Gold Standard Certification” from the Women in Law Empowerment Forum (WILEF) for incorporating women into the highest levels of firm leadership.

The honor recognizes the leadership roles achieved by equity women partners in law firms across the country. With eligibility limited to firms with 300 or more attorneys, only 31 firms nationwide achieved “Gold Standard Certification” this year, down from 44 in 2015. As detailed in Above the Law, less than half of the Am Law 100 appears on the list, and several big-name firms have disappeared from this year's ranking.

The vision of WILEF is to create a dialogue for the purpose of educating women in law firms on how to become leaders in the workplace and in the community by building, exercising and implementing a strong sense of empowerment. 

Law firms are eligible for the 2016 WILEF Gold Standard Certification if they successfully demonstrate that women represent a meaningful percentage of equity partners, leadership positions, governance and compensation committees, and highly compensated partners.

Thompson Coburn met the qualifications for the WILEF Gold Certification based on the following criteria, some of which were increased from last year:

• 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 15% 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