​Quarles & Brady Obtains WILEF 2016 Gold Standard Six-Peat

MILWAUKEE, Wis. — The national law firm of Quarles & Brady LLP today announced that it has achieved Gold Standard Re-Certification by the Women in Law Empowerment Forum (WILEF) for the six straight year. Thirty one firms are included on this year’s list.

"We are proud to have made this list for the sixth year in a row," said Darlene Austin, director of diversity & employee relations & corporate social responsibility. "Our repeated certification is proof positive that Quarles & Brady is committed to inclusive leadership among all attorneys in our firm; this is part of our culture. We are honored to have been recognized as one of the six firms to have met all of WILEF's criteria."

Gold Standard Certification emphasizes the leadership roles achieved by women partners, rather than the policies or practices of the firm or the overall number or percentage of women in the partnership. Law firms with 300 or more practicing lawyers in the United States were eligible if they successfully demonstrated that women represented a meaningful percentage of their equity partners, of their highest leadership positions, of their governance and compensation committees, and of their most highly compensated partners. To be certified, firms had to meet at least four of the six criteria:

• Women account for at least 20 percent of U.S. equity partners or, alternatively, one-third of non-lateral attorneys that became U.S. equity partners within the previous 12 months.

• Women represent at least 15 percent of firm and U.S. branch office heads combined.

• Women make up at least 20 percent of the firm's primary governance committee.

• Women represent 20 percent or more of the firm's compensation committee.

• Women make up at least 25 percent of practice group leaders or department heads.

• Women represent at least 15 percent of the top half of U.S. equity partners in terms of compensation.

About WILEF
Founded in 1997 by Elizabeth Anne “Betiayn” Tursi, with the support of R.R. Donnelley and several successful senior women attorneys, and subsequently of law firm and corporate sponsors, 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.