Shearman & Sterling was awarded its fourth Gold Standard Certification by The Women in Law Empowerment Forum (WILEF). The WILEF Gold Standard Certification is granted to major law firms that meet objective criteria concerning the number of women among equity partners, in firm leadership positions and in the ranks of their most highly compensated partners.

For 2018 Gold Standard Certification, the firm must satisfy both the mandatory criterion that 20% of equity partners or, alternatively, 33% of the attorneys becoming equity partners during the past 12 months are women, as well as 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

“We are delighted to receive the WILEF Gold Standard status for the fourth time,” said partner Doreen Lilienfeld (New York-Compensation, Governance & ERISA), a WILEF Advisory Board member. “Shearman & Sterling has long been an advocate for the advancement of women in the legal profession, and while we recognize that there is still much to do, we are proud of our efforts and the recognition we have received.”