WINRS | Reed Smith LLP

Women's Initiative Network

“Creating an environment where our women lawyers have equal opportunity to excel is critical to Reed Smith’s culture and values. To that end, we will continue to make recruiting, retention and promotion of women a top priority, and we will continue to foster the next generation of leaders and lawyers.”

Cristina Shea, Global Chair of Reed Smith's Women's Initiative Network

The Women in Law Empowerment Forum (WILEF) has again ranked Reed Smith “Gold Standard Certified" in both the U.S. and the UK for 2023, recognizing our longstanding commitment to women’s career advancement, diversity and inclusion. Reed Smith is proud to be one of only four firms recognized in both the U.S. and UK this year.

We are honored to once again achieve Mansfield Certified Plus status in both the United States and United Kingdom, recognizing the firm’s continued commitment to diverse representation among its leadership. This marks the sixth consecutive year that Reed Smith has achieved Certified Plus status in the U.S. and the second consecutive year it has done so in the UK. The firm has been certified every year since the launch of the Mansfield Rule in the U.S. in 2017 and in the UK in 2021.

Reed Smith is proud to be recognized by Yale Law Women in its 2021 Top Firms for Gender Equity and Family Friendliness report in the categories of “hiring practices,” “LGBTQ+ representation,” and “racial justice contributions.” Each year, Yale Law Women surveys Vault 100 law firms and Yale alumni working at those firms, to collect data on hiring practices, diversity in leadership, mentorship, flextime policies, LGBTQ+ representation, promotion practices, and support for new parents. This year, the survey also collected data on racial justice contributions and firms’ COVID-19 responses.

For the twelfth consecutive year, Reed Smith has been named by Seramount (formerly Working Mother) as one of the Best Law Firms for Women in recognition of the firm’s robust suite of programming and dedication to supporting and promoting our women lawyers. In 2020, Working Mother inducted Reed Smith into its Hall of Fame in recognition of the firm’s long-standing commitment to the advancement of women lawyers.

Women's Initiative Network of Reed Smith

The Women’s Initiative Network of Reed Smith (“WINRS”) is a growing global community of lawyers that operates as a “Virtual Practice Group” dedicated to further enhancing our workplace to more effectively develop, reward, engage, and attract women lawyers. The primary objective of WINRS is to help our women develop to their fullest potential, and position them appropriately for advancement and success. Our WINRS Working Groups are actively engaged in building a platform for success by focusing on the following elements and constituencies:

Contact:

“Recognition of parenting needs is such a well-established part of Reed Smith’s culture that I have consistently been able to work flexible hours and build a strong practice without having to navigate any formal approval process. I appreciate the role WINRS played in making it possible for me to spend time with my son daily and still advance to equity partner on the basis of my work performance and results.”

Shannon McClure, Equity Partner

Global Partnerships & Programs