Winners

With nominations coming from peers and the research of the Chambers Global Diversity Editor, being shortlisted for a Chambers Women in Law Awards USA is a fantastic achievement. We offer our congratulations to all firms and individuals.

Every category was closely competed with an overwhelming number of superb entries. Winning a Chambers Women in Law Award sets a precedent and marks an achievement of excellence and commitment in furthering the advancement of women in the legal profession.

The shortlist and winners are as follows:

Private Practice Awards

Future Leader (Private Practice) 
Michelle Morin, Associate, Covington & Burling LLP
Natalie Bennett, Associate, McDermott, Will & Emery LLP
Guinevere Moore, Associate, Holland & Knight LLP
Kimberly Gosling, Associate, Morrison & Foerster LLP
Alicia Giglio Suarez, Associate, Ropes & Gray LLP
Angela Vicari, Counsel, Kaye Scholer LLP
Eva Spahn, Associate, Greenberg Traurig LLP
Amanda K. Edwards, Associate, Bracewell & Giuliani LLP

Winner: Amanda K. Edwards, Associate, Bracewell & Giuliani LLP

Leadership in the Community: Lawyer of the Year (Private Practice) 
Joan-Elisse Carpentier, Partner, McDermott, Will & Emery LLP
Nancy Scott Degan, Shareholder, Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC
Debra A. Dandeneau, Partner, Weil. Gotshal & Manges LLP
Jennifer L. Hernandez, Partner, Holland & Knight LLP
Sharon Katz, Special Counsel for Pro Bono, Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP
Jamie A. Levitt, Partner, Morrison & Foerster LLP
Michele Johnson, Partner, Latham & Watkins LLP
Jana Cohen Barbe, Partner, Dentons US LLP
Pamela J. Martinson, Partner, Sidley Austin LLP
Caroline Heller, Shareholder, Greenberg Traurig LLP
Doreen Lilienfeld, Practice Group Leader, Shearman & Sterling LLP

Winner: Doreen Lilienfeld, Practice Group Leader, Shearman & Sterling LLP

Leadership in the Profession: Mentoring Lawyer of the Year (Private Practice)
Robin Cohen, Partner, Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman LLP
Amy Richardson, Partner, HARRIS, WILTSHIRE & GRANNIS LLP
Annemargaret Connolly, Partner, Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP
Elaine Stone, Partner, Covington and Burling LLP
Lori G. Cohen, Partner, Greenberg Traurig LLP
Amanda J. Metts, Partner, McDermott, Will & Emery LLP
Nadia S. Sager, Partner, Latham & Watkins LLP
Debra Wong Yang, Partner, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP
Margaret Tahyar, Partner, Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP
Antonia Stolper, Latin America Regional Managing Partner, Shearman & Sterling LLP
Penelope A. Preovolos, Partner, Morrison & Foerster LLP
Mary Ann Hynes, Senior Counsel, Dentons 

Winner: Robin Cohen, Partner, Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman LLP

Leadership in the Profession: Gender Diversity - Lawyer of the Year (Private Practice)
Kim Koopersmith, Chairperson, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP
Andrea Bernstein, Partner, Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP
Andrea Reister, Partner Covington & Burling LLP
Janis Schiff, Partner, Holland & Knight LLP
Mary Beth Hogan, Partner, Debevoise & Plimpton LLP
Amelia Starr, Partner, Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP
Barbara Becker, Co-Chair, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP
Jeanine Conley, Partner, Baker & Hostetler LLP
Susan H. Mac Cormac, Partner, Morrison & Foerster LLP
Pamela Yates, Partner, Kaye Scholer LLP
Maja Eaton, Partner, Sidley Austin LLP
Martha Sabol, Partner, Greenberg Traurig LLP

Winner: Mary Beth Hogan, Partner, Debevoise & Plimpton LLP

Outstanding Achievement Award (Private Practice) 
Kara Baysinger, Partner, Dentons US LLP
Alice Young, Retired Partner, Kaye Scholer LLP
Linda Chatman Thomsen, Partner, Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP
Linda T. Coberly, Partner, Winston & Strawn LLP
Linda Rappaport, Partner, Shearman & Sterling LLP
Jean Veta, Partner, Covington & Burling LLP
Miriam A. Vogel, Senior Of Counsel, Morrison & Foerster LLP
Kimberley Motely, Partner, Motley Legal Services
Andrea S. Kramer, Partner, McDermott, Will & Emery LLP
Christy Tosh Crider, Shareholder, Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC


Winner: 
Alice Young, Retired Partner, Kaye Scholer LLP

Most Pioneering Gender Diversity Initiative (Firm)
Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC
Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP
Greenberg Traurig LLP
Latham & Watkins LLP
Morrison & Foerster LLP
Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP
Shearman & Sterling LLP
Sidley Austin LLP
Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP
Winston & Strawn LLP

Winner: Sidley Austin LLP

Most Valuable Mentoring Program for Women Lawyers (Firm)
Greenberg Traurig LLP
Morrison & Foerster LLP
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Affiliates

Winner: Morrison & Foerster LLP

Most Inclusive Firm for Minority Women Lawyers (Firm)
Greenberg Traurig LLP
Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP

Winner: Greenberg Traurig LLP

Corporate Social Responsibility Programme of the Year (Firm)
Dentons
Latham & Watkins LLP
Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Affiliates

Winner: Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP

Outstanding Firm for Furthering Women’s Advancement (Recruitment, Retention and Promotion) (Firm) 
Jones Day
K&L Gates LLP
Morrison & Foerster LLP
Thompson Hine LLP

Winner: K&L Gates LLP

In-House Awards:

Future Leader (In-House)
Lenore Trammell, Chief Compliance Officer, Big River Steel
Julie Ledermann, Vice President and Assistant General Counsel, J.P. Morgan

Winner: Julie Ledermann, Vice President and Assistant General Counsel, J.P. Morgan

Leadership in the Community:  Lawyer of the Year (In-House)
Maureen Del Duca, Vice President, Deputy General Counsel, Litigation and Investigations, Northrop Grumman
Susan Stucker, Vice President-Legal, Labor & Employment, HD Supply
Alice G. Givens, VP, Associate General Counsel, J. Crew Group

Winner: Maureen Del Duca, Vice President, Deputy General Counsel, Litigation and Investigations, Northrop Grumman

Leadership in the Profession: Gender Diversity - Lawyer of the Year (In-House)
Michelle Waites, Senior Patent Counsel, Xerox Corporation 
Michele Coleman Mayes, Vice President, General Counsel, Secretary, The New York Public Library
Luisa Menezes , VP & Associate General Counsel for Latin America and Canada, PMI Global Services
Jennifer Rochon, General Counsel, Girls Scouts of the USA

Winner: Michelle Waites, Senior Patent Counsel, Xerox Corporation 

Leadership in the Profession: Mentoring - Lawyer of the Year (In-House)
Julie Jacobs, Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, AOL
Lucy Endel Bassli, Assistant General Counsel, Microsoft Corporation

Andrea M. Mattei, Group Vice President, Wyndham Wordwide Corporation

Winner: Julie Jacobs, Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, AOL 

Outstanding Achievement Award (In-House)
Meredith L. Deutsch, Executive Vice President, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary, Morgans Hotel Group Co.
Barbara Kolsun, Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Stuart Weitzman
Sally Rocker, Managing Director and General Counsel, J.C Flowers & Co. LLC
Jill Hayman,  Global Head of the Corporate Real Estate and Corporate Services Legal Group, Morgan Stanley

Winner: Jill Hayman,  Global Head of the Corporate Real Estate and Corporate Services Legal Group, Morgan Stanley

Special Awards:

Outstanding Contribution to Furthering the Advancement of Minority Lawyers
S. Jeanine Conley, Partner, Baker & Hostetler LLP

We are delighted to present our inaugural Outstanding Contribution to Furthering the Advancement of Minority Lawyers award to S. Jeanine Conley from Baker & Hostetler LLP. This award was specifically created based on the wealth and breadth of experience S. Jeanine Conley has brought to the sphere of advancing minorities within the legal profession and far beyond.

S. Jeanine Conley is co-chair of the inaugural Diversity, Inclusion and Community Service Committee at Baker & Hostetler LLP. She is past Chair of the Committee on Minorities in the Profession of the New York City Bar Association and is currently chair of the Recruitment and Retention Task Force, a subcommittee of the Enhance Diversity Committee of the New York City Bar, a group of leaders working to make a significant and lasting impact on diversity in the legal profession.

Conley’s commitment to diversity is ever-growing and far-reaching. She is a member of the Alumni Fellows Board of the Council of Urban Professionals and a member of the Executive Committee of the New York Urban League Board of Directors. She recently became a fellow in the 2015 class of the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity.

Conley is also a champion of gender diversity and has served as Past President of the Association of Black Women Attorneys, which works to enhance the professional and personal development of black women in law and provides scholarships to law school students to help build the diversity pipeline.

S. Jeanine Conley is a shining example of a true diversity champion who is opening many doors and creating new pathways for both minorities and women.

 

Outstanding Contribution to the International Community
Kimberley Motely, Partner, Motley Legal Services

We are delighted to present our inaugural Outstanding Contribution to the International Community to Kimberley Motley from Motley Legal Services. This award was set up to honour and highlight the outstanding achievement Kimberley has made to international human rights law.

Attorney Kimberley Motley has earned the reputation of one of the world’s most respected and successful lawyers. Armed with an unwavering determination and a passion for justice, Motley is the first and only foreign lawyer to ever litigate in Afghanistan’s Courts. She currently spends most of her time navigating Afghanistan’s punitive and capricious legal system with unprecedented success.

This pioneering international litigator is the daughter of a Korean mother and an ex-military African American father, initially served as an attorney with the Wisconsin State Public Defender's Office, where she litigated hundreds of criminal, civil and juvenile cases ranging from misdemeanors to felonies. Motley spends nine months of the year living in Afghanistan, defending foreigners to the country, Fortune 500 companies, embassies and ambassadors, and women and children in human rights cases, which have involved everything from accusations of drug trafficking, battery, murder. Bringing her vast knowledge, experience, success record and steadfast ethical standards to each case, Motley challenges out-dated cultural norms and focuses on human rights.

She recently gave a TED TALK and a GOOGLE TALK on her mission to raise the bar of legal representation globally. A documentary highlighting her work entitled, “Motley’s Law” is scheduled to be released in 2015.