Ballard Spahr Celebrates a Decade of WILEF Annual Gold Standard Certifications

For the tenth consecutive year, Ballard Spahr has earned the Gold Standard Certification from the Women in Law Empowerment Forum (WILEF). The firm is one of only 12 law firms nationwide to receive this recognition every year since the program's inception in 2011.

WILEF is the leading organization dedicated to helping women from the country’s largest law firms and corporate law departments advance their careers through empowerment and leadership.

Gold Standard Certification is based on objective criteria for female participation in firm and practice management and governance, as well as the promotion and compensation of women attorneys. It emphasizes leadership positions achieved by women equity partners and recognizes firms for their commitment to promoting and fairly compensating women and successfully integrating outstanding female attorneys into the highest echelons of leadership.

Ballard Spahr has been honored by publications and community organizations across the country for its efforts to advance women attorneys at the firm and within the legal profession. It was recently recognized in the Yale Law Women’s 2020 Gender Equity & Family Friendliness Report and has been ranked among the best U.S. law firms for women by WomenInc., Law360, and Working Mother.

With women composing nearly 30 percent of the firm’s equity partners, Ballard Spahr is above the national average. The firm provides professional development support designed to bolster the trajectory of women into key participation and leadership roles, both inside and outside the firm. Ballard Spahr is home to a wide range of networking, sponsorship, and mentoring programs for women at all career levels. It supports its female lawyers through the Ballard Women business resource group, which is co-chaired by Las Vegas Partner Maria Gall, Minneapolis Partner Nicole R. Hittner, Atlanta Associate Chittam U. Thakore, and Philadelphia Associate Jane Rose Siegfried.