CHARLESTON -- It's not often that you hear someone brag about being in second place, but in the July 23 issue of The National Law Journal, Jackson Kelly was recognized for having the second highest percentage of equity partners who are women - at 28.38 percent.
The partnership data was taken from The National Law Journal's annual NLJ 250 survey which ranks the largest firms in the United States.
Kathy G. Beckett, leader of the firm's Environmental Practice Group, was interviewed for the article. In it, she said that culture trumps formal programs when it comes to women's success at Jackson Kelly. She also said that informal mentoring goes on all the time and that the firm is too busy to ignore talented young women.
Jackson Kelly CEO Michael D. Foster said, "We hire the best lawyers we can. Many of them are women, and our female equity partners not only serve as mentors to our associates, but to those within the communities and industries we serve."
This isn't the first time that Jackson Kelly has been singled out for this type of recognition. The firm was also identified earlier this year by Law360 as one of the top ten firms for female partners, and in 2011, Jackson Kelly was awarded a "Gold Standard Certification" by the Women in Law Empowerment Forum (WILEF) – which is a designation for law firms that have integrated women in top leadership positions.
Jackson Kelly is a national law firm representing leading global corporations, national companies, entrepreneurs and individuals in areas of law such as environmental, business, labor and employment, federal and state workers' compensation, civil litigation and occupational safety and health. The firm has offices in Colorado, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and the District of Columbia.