Thompson Coburn again earns WILEF ‘Gold Standard’ for women leaders

For the sixth year in a row, Thompson Coburn has earned a “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 45 firms nationwide achieved “Gold Standard Certification” in 2019.

In announcing this year’s slate of honorees, WILEF highlighted the increasing number of firms that are meeting the standard, up by three from last year. For the first time, WILEF extended its survey to law firms in the United Kingdom. Nine firms achieved the UK Gold Standard in 2019.

Law firms are eligible for the 2019 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. Specifically, 20% of equity partners or, alternatively, 33% of the attorneys becoming equity partners during the past 12 months must be women.

Additionally, certified firms must also meet at least three of the following five criteria:

• 15% of firm and U.S. branch office heads are women
  
  
• 20% of the firm’s primary governance committee are women
  
  
• 20% of the firm’s compensation committee or its equivalent are women
  
  
• 15% of the top half of the firm’s equity partners in terms of compensation are women
  
  
• 7% of women equity partners are women of color or 3.5% of women equity partners are LGBT