Willig, Williams & Davidson Named to Honor Roll of Legal Organizations Welcoming Women Professionals

Philadelphia, PA, May 23, 2014 --(PR.com)-- Pennsylvania labor, employment and workers’ compensation law firm Willig, Williams & Davidson has been named to the Honor Roll of Legal Organizations Welcoming Women Professionals by the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s Commission on Women in the Profession.

Willig, Williams & Davidson was selected for the Honor Roll based on its management philosophies and programs that help women lawyers advance in their professional careers. The firm and its partners strive to ensure not only workplace diversity but a family friendly work environment. Long before such things were commonplace, the firm adopted policies regarding part-time work, family and medical leave, and parental leave that made it particularly attractive to highly qualified female applicants.

“Half of our firm partners are female, a high statistic for the industry, and one that we would like to see become the norm,” said managing partner Deborah R. Willig. “We firmly understand that building a workplace that recognizes the importance of both work and life is critical to attracting the most talented and committed female attorneys – and to keeping them at the firm over the years, building successful law practices that help us all to flourish.”

Willig has led the way in creating an environment that supports women since she founded the firm in 1979, a time when women comprised a scant 12 percent of all U.S. lawyers. Her role as a breaker of glass ceilings began in law school, when she became the first woman president of the Temple University School of Law Student Bar Association Board of Governors. In 1992, she became the first woman Chancellor of the Philadelphia Bar Association. She has remained at the helm of Willig, Williams & Davidson, building a successful firm that the Pennsylvania Bar Association repeatedly has recognized as a leading law firm in the Commonwealth for the promotion of women to leadership positions.

“We hope that the success of Willig, Williams & Davidson will inspire other legal organizations to recognize the importance of similar programs and create an atmosphere that helps women lawyers advance in their careers,” said Melinda C. Ghilardi, Esq. Barbara Ochs, Esq. and Jill M. Scheidt, Esq., co-chairs of the commission’s Report Card Committee.

Established in 1993, the commission works to involve more women in the bar association leadership and to explore issues affecting women in the law. Its Honor Roll recognizes law firms that strive to retain and promote women legal professionals, giving them the tools they need to advance their careers while balancing the demands of family. The Honor Roll is published in the annual conference program and listed on the PBA website.

About Willig, Williams & Davidson – Willig, Williams & Davidson (www.wwdlaw.com) is one of the largest and most respected union-side labor law firms in the United States. The firm has offices in Philadelphia, Media, Jenkintown and Harrisburg, Pa., as well as Haddonfield, N.J. Founded in 1979, Willig, Williams & Davidson focuses on representing labor unions, employee benefit funds and individual working people and their families on a variety of legal fronts, including national, regional and local contract negotiations; dispute resolution through mediation, arbitration and litigation; tax and benefit law compliance issues; discrimination and other employment matters; prepaid legal services for union members; and workers’ compensation matters in Philadelphia and beyond.