WILEF Announces New Gold Standard Chair

by | Jan 22, 2018

Gold Standard News

Nancy Bertoglio, a former equity partner with K&L Gates and Bell, Boyd & Lloyd, has been selected as the new Chair of WILEF’s Gold Standard Certification Committee.

Bertoglio

Bertoglio comes to the job with a long and distinguished record in Big Law.  In 1999, she was appointed managing partner of Bell Boyd, where, among other things, she oversaw the Chicago-based firm’s expansion into the San Diego market.

In addition, Bertoglio, who also served on Bell Boyd’s executive committee and management committee, helped execute Bell Boyd’s combination with K&L Gates in 2009.

Before her retirement in 2015, Bertoglio served for three years as administrative partner of the K&L Gates Chicago office and a member of the K&L Gates management committee for four years.

WILEF Global Chair and Co-Founder Betiayn Tursi said she was “thrilled” that Bertoglio had come on board.

“I know she will do a wonderful job in this very important role,” said Tursi.

Bertoglio replaces Libby McGarry, a retired Simpson Thacher & Bartlett partner, as Certification Chair.

The WILEF Gold Standard Certification remains a major goal for the country’s largest law firms that want to demonstrate their commitment to promoting and fairly compensating women.

But obtaining the certification has become more difficult over the years as the criteria have changed.  Last year, firms had to meet at least four of the following six criteria:

  1. 20 percent of U.S. equity partners or, alternatively, one-third of attorneys who became U.S. equity partners within the previous 12 months, are women
  2. 15 percent of the heads of the firm and its U.S. branch office heads combined are women
  3. 20 percent of the members of the firm’s primary governance committee are women
  4. 20 percent of the members of the committee that determines equity partner compensation are women
  5. 15 percent of the top half of U.S. equity partners in terms of compensation are women
  6. 7 percent of U.S. women equity partners are women of color and/or 3.5 percent of them are LGBT

This year, the bar will be raised again, as criterion one becomes mandatory, a reflection of WILEF’s belief in the essential role equity partnership plays in the advancement of women. If criterion one is satisfied, firms will then need to meet at least three of the other five criteria.

Last year, a total of 48 firms obtained the Gold Standard. The last four to make the December 12, 2017, deadline were: Bracewell; Dorsey & Whitney; Hughes Hubbard & Reed; and Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart.

Moire Law Firm