September 13, 2011 — Vinson & Elkins has been named one the 2011 Best Law Firms for Women by the National Association for Female Executives (NAFE) and Flex-Time Lawyers for its achievements and commitments to successfully promote the advancement of women lawyers.
Women lawyers are vital to the business, culture, and future of Vinson & Elkins. In 2000, V&E launched a firm-wide Women’s Initiative to attract the best and brightest women lawyers, promote their advancement, and nurture their development. Since then, V&E has implemented a variety of services to benefit women lawyers, such as the Attorney Mentoring and Development, Networking, Business Development, Work/Life Balance, and Maternity Mentoring and Post-Maternity Phase-In programs.
Also in 2000, V&E launched the Women’s Career Development Council (WCDC), and in 2001 the firm created an external Women’s Initiative Advisory Board composed of leaders from academia, philanthropic entities, government and business, to advise and hold the firm accountable for executing on overall diversity and inclusion initiatives. The WCDC addresses a variety of the challenges women face as they pursue their legal careers. With the full support of Vinson & Elkins, women attorneys are empowered to contribute to their fullest potential on the job.
Valinda Wolfert, chair of the Women’s Career Development Council, said, “Being recognized by NAFE as one of the top law firms for women reflects the value we place on helping women attorneys find professional satisfaction and success at Vinson & Elkins.”
“We are delighted V&E received recognition for their efforts. This is more than developing associates, there are also ample opportunities for partners to develop leadership skills,” added Carol Frohlinger, managing principal at Negotiating Women, Inc., who has worked with V&E to enhance and accelerate the leadership skills of midlevel women associates.
The law firm winners were selected based on responses to a survey containing nearly 500 questions on workforce; time off and leaves; child care; flexibility; leadership, compensation and advancement of women; development and retention of women; and achievements in terms of retaining and promoting outstanding women lawyers. The survey delves into the presence of women in the firm, their roles, firm policies, programs, and usage rates.
V&E will receive the award on September 21, 2011, at the NAFE Gala Awards Luncheon and Executive Roundtable in New York City.
NAFE is one of the largest women’s professional associations in the United States. It provides women with resources to succeed in the business world through education, training development, and networking. The survey can be found here.