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Lathrop Gage Obtains Women in Law Empowerment Forum’s 2015 Certification

6/25/2015

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (June 25, 2015) – ­­ Lathrop Gage is proud to be listed among the top firms in the nation for female equity and power. The Women in Law Empowerment Forum (WILEF) granted 44 firms with its 2015 WILEF Gold Standard Certification, emphasizing the leadership roles achieved by equity women partners.

The 2015 WILEF Gold Standard Certification is granted only to firms that successfully demonstrate that women represent a meaningful percentage of their equity partners, highest leadership positions, governance and compensation committees and most highly compensated partners. This certification highlights the value that Lathrop Gage places on women in the firm by supporting them in their leadership positions including partnership, executive committee roles and practice team leads.

“We are proud of our diversity efforts and will continue to strive to be an industry leader in recognizing the important role women play in leadership of the firm,” said Mark Bluhm, Lathrop Gage CEO. “We know there is work to be done and we remain committed to creating a positive environment that provides equal opportunities for women to succeed in leadership positions.”

Lathrop & Gage has 87 female attorneys in the firm. A number of women serve in a variety of leadership positions, including: 

  • Jennifer Hannah (Overland Park, Kan.) - a member of the firm’s Executive Committee and Chair of the Litigation Division. She litigates all phases of complex litigation disputes, including substantial jury trial practice, appellate practice, class-action litigation, and alternative dispute resolution throughout the United States.
  • Sue Charles (Chicago) - Partner in Charge of the Chicago office and member of the firm’s Executive Committee. She advises clients on all aspects of environmental law including regulatory compliance, risk assessment, enforcement defense and environmental litigation. 

Additionally, the following women serve as co-leaders of their respective practice groups:

  • Ruth Brackney (Overland Park, Kan.) is the co-leader of the Wealth Strategies group with experience in preparing analyses and recommendations on estate-related issues and financial planning. 
  • Amy Brozenic (Overland Park, Kan.) serves as the co-leader of the Intellectual Property Transactions Trademark/Copyright group and counsels clients on all areas concerning trademark portfolio management and intellectual property licensing.
  • Mara Cohara (Kansas City, Mo.) has experience in all things related to toxic and mass tort, including several high-profile law suits, and is the co-leader of the Product Liability, Toxic and Mass Tort group.
  • Lindsay Larrick (Denver) serves as the co-leader of the Energy group while focusing her practice on the areas regarding onshore oil and gas exploration and development transactions.
  • Jessica Merrigan (Kansas City, Mo.) is the co-leader of the Environmental group and has experience representing clients in the realm of federal environmental laws and regulations.
  • Sara Millin (Kansas City, Mo.) co-leads the Policyholder and Insurance Coverage group and practices litigation, arbitration, mediation and negotiation of complex claims in the areas of insurance recovery.
  • Julie Roth (Overland Park, Kan.) represents all types of healthcare providers and advises clients on regulatory compliance on revenue related matters and co-leads the Health Care group.
  • Beth Schroeder (Los Angeles) is the co-leader of the Employment group with a wealth of experience in representing employers in all aspects of employment and labor law as well as employee-related guidance. 
  • Sally Sullivan (Boulder) serves as co-leader of the Intellectual Property Transactions Chemical group and provides counseling on patenting and licensing strategies, patentability, and patent infringement and validity.
  • Kimberly Winter (Kansas City, Mo.) has experience in matters related to insurance coverage disputes, insolvency, and general insurance issues and co-leads the Policyholder and Insurance Coverage group.

In order to achieve this certification, firms with at least 300 lawyers had to meet at least four of the following six criteria:

  1. Women account for at least 20 percent of equity partners or, alternatively, 33 percent or more of the attorneys becoming equity partners during the past twelve months.
  2. Women represent at least 10 percent of firm chairs and office managing partners.
  3. Women make up at least 20 percent of the firm’s primary governance committee.
  4. Women represent 20 percent or more of the firm’s compensation committee.
  5. Women make up at least 25 percent of practice group leaders or department heads.
  6. Women represent at least 10 percent of the top half of the most highly compensated partners.

Lathrop & Gage welcomes the 2015 WILEF Certification and will continue to implement strong diversity efforts and lead by example as an advocate for women in the legal industry.

About Lathrop Gage:
Lathrop Gage has 320 attorneys nationwide serving clients in the areas of litigation, intellectual property and business law. Chambers USA ranks Lathrop Gage’s corporate, environmental, labor and employment, litigation and real estate practices among the best in their regions. For more information, visit www.lathropgage.com.