“Heartfelt congratulations to Casey for earning this significant honor by dedicating her energy, enthusiasm, creativity and expertise to promoting women’s advancement in the legal profession,” said Sandy Thomas, Reed Smith’s Global Managing Partner. “Casey has spent her entire legal career at our firm – she has always been and remains an incomparable force for gender equity and women’s empowerment and is truly worthy of this recognition.”
Ryan has led the development and launch of three significant firmwide policy and program initiatives that promote positive changes in the firm’s culture; improvements in the health and well-being of its lawyers; and the advancement of diverse and female lawyers across the firm. She was instrumental in conceptualizing and rolling out Wellness Works in January 2018, launching a comprehensive Associate Life Initiative just four months later, and is currently implementing enhancements to Associate Life.
“I am gratified to be recognized by Corporate Counsel and InsideCounsel for this honor,” Ryan said. “I benefitted enormously from the policies, practices and resources at Reed Smith, and am grateful to have had so many leadership opportunities, as well as opportunities to participate in creating new approaches and programs that empower and advance women and others firmwide.”
Today, the firm's Diversity & Inclusion Initiative and its Women’s Initiative Network (WINRS) report directly to Ryan.
In announcing the 2019 WIPL winners, Corporate Counsel noted the awards “spotlight North American women in-house and law firm leaders who have demonstrated extraordinary leadership and business acumen. These women are business strategists, complex problem solvers, and of course, great lawyers. But what particularly makes these women stand out is their personal dedication to the promotion of diversity of women in the legal industry. They are women championing women!”
Under Ryan’s leadership, in 2017, Reed Smith was an inaugural signatory to the Mansfield Rule, which requires that at least 30 percent of the candidates considered for all leadership and governance roles, equity partner promotions, and lateral partner positions worldwide are women.
Ryan joined Reed Smith after completing Notre Dame Law School in 1996 and became a partner in 2003. During her time at Reed Smith, she has led the firm’s Labor & Employment Practice Group, served as chair of the Pittsburgh office’s Women’s Initiative Network (WINRS) and has been the Vice Chair of the firm’s Global Litigation Department.
The 2019 WIPL award winners will be recognized at an awards dinner October 16 as part of Corporate Counsel’s and InsideCounsel’s “Women, Influence & Power in Law Conference” in Washington.
About Reed Smith
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For further information, please visit reedsmith.com.
