K&L Gates Receives Eighth WILEF Gold Standard Certification

Dallas – Global law firm K&L Gates LLP has been recognized with a Gold Standard Certification by the Women in Law Empowerment Forum (WILEF) for an eighth time for demonstrating high levels of women as firm partners and leaders. K&L Gates is one of only 18 firms that have been recognized at least eight times since the certification launched in 2011.

A premier organization for women in law, WILEF is exclusively dedicated to women from the largest law firms and corporate law departments in the United States. The Gold Standard Certification recognizes 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.

“We are thrilled that K&L Gates has again been recognized for our dedication and success in supporting our talented women lawyers,” said Cindy Ohlenforst, a Dallas tax partner and chair of K&L Gates’ Women in the Profession committee. “Diversity initiatives including those focused on retaining and promoting women are a core part of our culture.”

K&L Gates has received multiple recognitions in recent months and years for its commitment to opportunities for diverse lawyers, including an award last August by longtime client Chevron USA; a ninth consecutive rating as a “Best Place to Work for LGBT Equality” from the Human Rights Campaign in March; an “Employer of Choice for Gender Equality” certification by the Australian Workplace Gender Equality Agency; and a designation by Yale Law Women as a “Top Ten Family Friendly Firm.”
 
Additionally, the firm sponsors or participates in a number of other diversity-related programs. These include the Corporate Counsel Women of Color (CCWC), the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD), Diversity Council Australia, Equality Campaign Australia, the Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA), the Minority Corporate Counsel Association, the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA), the Belgium Legal Diversity & Inclusion Alliance, the National Association of Women Lawyers (NAWL), the National Bar Association, the National LGBT Bar Association, and the Stonewall (UK) Global Diversity Champions Program.