November 16, 2012
Managing Partner
WASHINGTON, DC - Working Mother today named Finnegan as one of its 2012 Working Mother and Flex-Time Lawyers’ “50 Best Law Firms for Women.” The award recognizes firms for their family-friendly policies and business development initiatives that retain women and advance them into the leadership pipeline.
This latest recognition is the second significant accolade Finnegan has received in 2012 from Working Mother Media. In September, the firm was recognized as one of the “100 Best Companies” for working mothers. In each instance, the firm was commended for its commitment to the advancement of women in key leadership positions in the firm. The firm is led by Managing Partner Barbara Clarke McCurdy, who manages the daily operations of the firm and leads the firm’s Coordinating, Compensation, and Management Committees. In addition to Ms. McCurdy’s leadership, half of the firm’s practice group leaders are women. In discussing the firm’s approach to advancing women and involving them in leadership positions, Barbara says, “The philosophy of the firm is that if you are talented and committed to the firm’s success, the opportunities for advancement will be there.”
In addition, Finnegan partner Erika Arner was recognized as a Working Mother of the Year. Erika said, "I have been able to enjoy raising my family while also building a successful patent law practice. The firm's part-time policy was the reason I was able to continue working while my kids were babies."
The Best Law Firms for Women survey was developed in 2007 in a partnership between Working Mother Media and Flex-Time Lawyers LLC. Firms with at least 50 lawyers are eligible to apply and provide detailed questions about the issues that are most important to the retention and promotion of female lawyers. Fifty winning firms are selected based on their commitments, policies, and accomplishments related to workforce profile, family-friendly benefits and policies, flexibility, leadership, compensation, advancement and retention of women.
With more than 375 intellectual property lawyers, Finnegan is one of the largest IP law firms in the world. From offices in Washington, DC; Atlanta, Georgia; Cambridge, Massachusetts; Palo Alto, California; Reston, Virginia; Brussels, Belgium; Shanghai, China; Taipei, Taiwan; and Tokyo, Japan, the firm practices all aspects of patent, trademark, copyright, and trade secret law, including counseling, prosecution, licensing, and litigation. Finnegan also represents clients on IP issues related to international trade, portfolio management, the Internet, e-commerce, government contracts, antitrust, and unfair competition. For additional information on the firm, please visit www.finnegan.com.
Working Mother Media publishes Working Mother magazine and its companion website, workingmother.com, and the Working Mother Research Institute. The National Association for Female Executives (nafe.com), Diversity Best Practices (diversitybestpractices.com) are also units within WMM. Working Mother Media’s mission is to serve as a champion of culture change. Working Mother magazine reaches more than 2 million readers and is the only national magazine for career-committed mothers.
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