Walsworth Becomes Largest Certified Women Owned Law Firm in the U.S.
Orange, California – March 23, 2016 – The Walsworth law firm recently received certification as a Women’s Business Enterprise (WBE) by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC). The national standard for certification is an in-depth analysis of the business structure and management, designed to confirm the business is at least 51 percent owned, operated and controlled by women.
“When I came to the firm as a first year lawyer 23 years ago, there were mostly male partners, but still more women than at other law firms, and through the years there has been a true emphasis on first hiring the best person to serve our client’s needs,” says Sharon Clisham, co-managing partner of Walsworth. “We take great pride in our commitment to foster the leadership of men and women in our firm and support their hiring, retention and promotion at all levels.”
With a commitment to diversity spanning more than 25 years, Walsworth is now the largest WBE law firm in the United States. With more than 80 attorneys, the firm employs more than three times as many attorneys as the next largest certified firm. Walsworth has an active mentoring program, part-time partnership track and diverse hiring and management committees. Female attorneys now comprise 60 percent of non-equity partners and 54 percent of equity partners at Walsworth, compared to the national averages of 28 percent and 18 percent, respectively. Female attorneys also comprise 60 percent of the firm’s steering committee compared to the national level of 41 percent.
“Our clients, vendors and consultants have recognized our unwavering commitment to diversity and supported our pursuit of the WBE certification because of the increasing importance of diversity in their workplaces,” says Mary Watson Fisher, co-managing partner of Walsworth. “In addition, the experience and resources of a diverse firm available to handle complex litigation and transactional matters has been particularly attractive to clients.”
According to WBENC, more than 1,000 U.S. companies rely on the WBENC’s WBE certification as an integral part of their corporate supplier diversity programs which source products and professional services from WBE and MBE’s (minority), veteran and disabled owned entities, which in turn, sustain and progressively transform a company’s supply chain to reflect local and/or national demographics.
About Women’s Business Enterprise Council:
The WBENC organization, founded in 1997, is the nation’s leading advocate of women-owned businesses as suppliers to America’s corporations. WBENC is the largest third-party certifier of businesses owned and operated by women in the United States. To learn more, visit WBENC.
About Walsworth
Walsworth was founded in 1989 with a commitment to establish a law firm focused on working collaboratively with clients to meet their unique objectives. Since then, the firm of over 80 attorneys with offices in Orange, Los Angeles and San Francisco, is known for excellence in litigation and transactional matters. The firm is equally distinct in its longstanding commitment to diversity, which is recognized through certification as a Women’s Business Enterprise (WBE) by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) and by the California Public Utilities Commission. The firm is the largest certified WBE law firm in the United States.