InsideCounsel Magazine's 2010 Transformative Leadership Awards Winners Announced

CHICAGO, April 22 /PRNewswire/ -- InsideCounsel magazine, the leading monthly business publication for general counsel and in-house legal executives, today announced the winners of the First Annual Transformative Leadership Awards, scheduled for May 24, 2010, in Chicago, IL.

The awards, which will be presented at a gala dinner and reception in conjunction with InsideCounsel's 10th Annual SuperConference, honor women general counsel and law firm partners who have demonstrated a commitment to advancing the empowerment of women in corporate law. 

The winners were selected by a National Awards Committee, comprising general counsel from leading corporations and partners at top law firms. The committee is co-chaired by Allstate Insurance Company's Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Chief Legal Officer, Michele Coleman Mayes and InsideCounsel magazine's Editor-in-Chief, Cathleen Flahardy.    

"We believe the time has come to recognize those whose efforts are opening doors for women in the legal profession," said Sheila Brennan, program director for InsideCounsel's SuperConference.  "We are thrilled that the National Awards Committee has selected such an impressive and inspiring group for our First Annual Transformative Leadership Awards. It is our hope that by measuring what matters we can help play a role in increasing economic opportunities for women in corporate law."

2010 Award Categories and Winners:

The Anastasia D. Kelly Award

The award honors women general counsel who have taken active steps to help other women become general counsel.  In light of the accomplishments of three outstanding women and in the interest of inclusion, we have decided to make each one of the three finalists a Kelly Award recipient for the first year:

- Sheila Davidson, EVP & General Counsel, New York Life

- Lauri Shanahan, Former EVP, General Counsel & Chief Compliance Officer, Gap Inc.

- Jennifer Vogel, SVP, General Counsel, Secretary & Chief Compliance Officer, Continental Airlines

The Pamela L. Carter Award

The award honors a former general counsel who currently heads a major division in a Fortune 500-sized company (public or private).

- Rose Ann Scanlon, Executive Director, Commercial Operations, AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals

The Sharing the Power Award

The award honors a general counsel and a woman partner at a law firm who have collaborated to increase the economic empowerment of women in that firm. The award will be presented jointly to:

- Gwen Marcus, EVP & General Counsel, Showtime Networks

- Elizabeth McNamara, Partner, Davis Wright Tremaine

The Rainmaker Award

The award honors a woman partner at a law firm with a book of business of $1 million or more.

- Karen Popp, Partner, Sidley Austin

The Economic Empowerment Awards

The awards honor women partners and law firms based on the percentage of women on key management committees. There are three categories:

- Woman-Owned Law Firm: Schoeman, Updike & Kaufman

- Woman Partner at a Law firm: Mary Ellen Powers, Partner-in-Charge, Washington Office, Jones Day

- Law Firm: Faegre & Benson

The winners from each awards category will be honored at the May awards ceremony and conference at the Fairmont Chicago.  The 2009 conference was attended by more than 400 senior in-house legal executives.  

For more information about the awards dinner and conference, including complete award descriptions, information about individual ticket sales and limited sponsorship opportunities, visit www.insidecounsel.com/awards.  

About InsideCounsel

Headquartered in Chicago, InsideCounsel (www.insidecounsel.com) is the premier monthly business publication for general counsel and in-house counsel executives. Launched in 1991 as Corporate Legal Times, InsideCounsel is the oldest monthly magazine published specifically for in-house counsel. With an audited circulation of 40,000, the magazine covers critical business and strategy information for corporate legal departments and regularly reports on corporate governance and compliance, litigation, labor and employment, and intellectual property.

About Summit Live Events

Summit Live Events, a division of Summit Business Media (www.sbmedia.com), produces a number of highly successful conferences for the Insurance, Banking, Legal, Professional Services, and Mining and Natural Resources Investment industries. Leveraging the expertise and reach of our publications, reference and data divisions, in addition to years of experience hosting events in each field, our events deliver timely, cutting-edge content backed by world-class execution, top industry speakers and attention to detail. Each event is carefully-designed to create and share knowledge on business practices, compliance issues, industry trends, economic forecasts, investment strategies, and other critical issues impacting the business operations of our target audiences – all aimed to strengthen their personal or company's performance.

SOURCE InsideCounsel