Quarles & Brady Obtains WILEF 2018 Gold Standard for Eighth Straight Year

MILWAUKEE — The national law firm of Quarles & Brady LLP is pleased to announce that it has achieved Gold Standard Re-Certification by the Women in Law Empowerment Forum (WILEF) for the eighth straight year. Forty-two firms are included on this year’s list.

"It is an honor to be named to the WILEF list for the eighth year in a row," said Darlene Austin, director of diversity & employee relations & corporate social responsibility. "Being named to this list since its inception shows the importance Quarles & Brady continues to place on fostering growth and leadership among our women attorneys.”

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 represent at least 15 percent of the top half of U.S. equity partners in terms of compensation.
• Women represent at least 7 percent of equity partners that are of color and/or 3.5 percent of them are LGBT.

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.