AmericasWomen in Business Law Awards

Euromoney Legal Media Group

Part of Euromoney Institutional Investor, Euromoney Legal Media Group comprises a wide range of legal publications including Managing Intellectual Property, International Financial Law Review, IFLR1000, International Tax Review, Expert Guides and Benchmark Litigation.

Methodology

The Americas Women in Business Law Awards gives law firms and professional services firms the recognition they deserve for their efforts in helping women advance in the legal profession. The event is split into individual categories and law firm categories.

Law firms are first invited to make submissions detailing their female lawyer numbers in relation to their male counterparts. Submissions will also include details of tangible, women-friendly working practices and policies as well as biographical information about leading female lawyers.

A Euromoney Legal Media Group research team then conducts a series of peer review interviews – face-to-face and over the phone – with leading female practitioners across multiple areas of law and jurisdictions verifying much of the information provided. The team will also incorporate other research from within the group in order to further refine the results i.e. magazine survey results / directory analysis etc.

Categories explanation

Gender diversity categories

  • Covers groups and networks (for example: women’s group with alumni, partners and clients present)
  • Also covers gender-based events. These tend to be more social.

Minority women lawyers / best firm for diversity categories

  • Covers everything around diversity that is outside women issues (for example: race, LGBT issues)
  • Policies have to be implemented in the country specified

Innovation category

  • It is based on ALL other categories
  • Look for interesting, new initiatives that are in the pipeline or recently launched
  • Where difference is being made?

International firm

  • This is aimed at the big international firms across the Americas.

Mentoring categories

  • This includes mentoring, sponsorship and coaching
  • A mentor is a guide for you to get to your goals on your own
  • A sponsor actively tries to get you promoted
  • A coach is usually external from the company and sits with you one-on-one
  • Please note that we include maternity and transition coaching in the mentoring category, NOT the work-life category. Work-life can contain elements of this type of coaching, but standalone projects go in mentoring

Work-life balance

  • Includes flexible working, maternity leave and groups for parents etc. at law firms (affinity groups)
  • This category also covers childcare

Pro bono category

  • Preference is given to ensure the work is relevant to women where possible
  • For example, legal work involving domestic violence or disadvantaged women

Talent management

  • Covers recruiting, retaining and promoting
  • Also covers leadership development programmes
  • Other examples include ways to hire more women associates (different adverts or recruiting from elsewhere, including other jurisdictions)

Country / regional awards

  • Awards for each individual jurisdiction in the Americas

How are winners decided?

The winning individuals and firms are decided by senior Euromoney Legal Media Group editorial staff following an extensive research process.

Individual winners are judged on their professional accomplishments as well as advocacy and influence within her field over the last 12 months.

Firm and country/regional winners are judged on their ability to support the development of women in the legal profession and provide work/life program to enable women to pursue legal careers. Criteria include the ratio of female-to-male lawyers (at all levels of seniority), the retention of women associates to partner level and any relevant diversity initiatives.

Categories

Practice areas (best individual lawyer in each category). Winners are primarily determined on the deals completed in the previous 12 months.

Antitrust/competition

Aviation

Banking & finance (incl project finance)

Capital markets

Commercial arbitration

Copyright

Corporate governance

Energy, natural resources & mining

Environment

Financial regulation

Insolvency & restructuring

Insurance & reinsurance

Investment funds

Labor & employment

Life sciences

Litigation

Media & entertainment

Mergers & acquisitions

Patent

Private equity

Real estate

Structured finance (incl securitisation & derivatives)

Tax

Tax dispute resolution

Trademark

Transfer pricing

Wealth management

Latin America awards

Best corporate lawyer in Latin America

Best finance lawyer in Latin America

Best intellectual lawyer in Latin America

Best litigator in Latin America

Best tax lawyer in Latin America

Rising stars

Corporate

Litigation

IP

Tax

Finance

In-house individual awards

Benchmark Litigation in-house award

International Financial Law Review in-house award

International Tax Review in-house award

Managing IP in-house award

In-house team awards

Best in-house team with under 50 lawyers

Best in-house team with over 50 lawyers

Individual awards

Outstanding practitioner

Lifetime achievement

Best firm in country/region

Latin America

Argentina

Bolivia

Brazil

Caribbean region

Central America (Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua)

Chile

Colombia

Ecuador

Mexico

Panama

Paraguay

Peru

Uruguay

Venezuela

North America

Canada

Midwest (Chicago, Detroit)

Northeast (Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Washington DC)

West (Denver, Los Angeles, San Francisco Bay Area, San Diego, Seattle)

South (Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Miami)

Firm awards

Best gender diversity initiative by national firm

Best gender diversity initiative by international firm
Best international firm Latin America practice

Most innovative international firm

Best firm for minority women lawyers

Best mentoring program by national firm

Best mentoring program by international firm

Best national firm for work-life balance

Best international firm for work-life balance

Best firm for pro bono work

Best national firm for talent management

Best international firm for talent management

Best national firm for women in business law (North America)

Best national firm for women in business law (Latin America)

Best international firm for women in business law