InsideCounsel Magazine's 2011 Transformative Leadership Awards Now Accepting Entries for General Counsel and Law Firm Partners

CHICAGO, Sept. 30 /PRNewswire/ -- InsideCounsel magazine, the leading monthly business publication for general counsel and in-house legal executives, is now accepting entries for the 2nd Annual Transformative Leadership Awards, scheduled for May 24, 2011, in Chicago, IL.  

The awards, which will be presented at a gala dinner in conjunction with InsideCounsel's 11th Annual SuperConference, honor women general counsel and law firm partners who have demonstrated a commitment to advancing the empowerment of women in corporate law. Two new awards, the Mary Ann Hynes Pioneer Award and Thomas A. Mars Pathmaker Award, have been added to the line-up to salute leaders who have taken measurable steps to transform the legal profession.  

Michele Coleman Mayes, Senior Vice President, General Counsel & Chief Legal Officer, The Allstate Company, will co-chair the 2011 National Awards Committee with Cathleen Flahardy, InsideCounsel magazine's Editor-In-Chief.  Along with a distinguished group of general counsel from leading corporations and partners at top law firms, they will participate in the selection of the 2011 winners.

"Following the success of last year's inaugural event, I'm proud to watch this unique event for women in the legal profession evolve and contribute to the process," said InsideCounsel's Flahardy.  "We are delighted that general counsel from companies such as McDonald's, CIGNA, Gap, Oracle, Clorox, and many others, have agreed to serve on the National Awards Committee and will be deciding the next class of inspirational winners."  

2011 Awards Categories and 2010 Winners:  

Thomas A. Mars Pathmaker Award

The Thomas A. Mars Pathmaker Award is presented to a law firm managing partner or law firm senior leader whose courage, unyielding vision, integrity, conviction and authenticity has carved a groundbreaking path and laid a new foundation to accelerate the economic empowerment of attorneys of color or women in law firms. Thomas A. Mars is the Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer of Walmart U.S.

Mary Ann Hynes Pioneer Award

The Mary Ann Hynes Pioneer Award is presented to a woman general counsel that has transformed being the "first" into being a "catalyst" for change. She indelibly raises the bar for attorneys and corporations through consistently demonstrating her dynamic expertise, core values and ideals that drive unprecedented collaboration, innovation and achievement to deliver sustainable results.  Her strong sense of purpose transcends the legal profession, as she is devoted to both professional and civic leadership, policy reform and the economic advancement of others to achieve success. Mary Ann Hynes is the Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary for Corn Products International, Inc.

Anastasia D. Kelly Award

The Anastasia D. Kelly Award honors a woman general counsel who has manifested a sustained commitment to accelerate the ascendancy of women to senior leadership roles in the law department and beyond. Her unselfish commitment to advancing women has made a significant impact professionally and personally on those she entrusts. Anastasia D. Kelly is the former Vice Chairman, Legal, Human Resources, Corporate Communications and Corporate Affairs at American International Group, Inc.  

• Sheila Davidson, EVP & General Counsel, New York Life
• Lauri Shanahan, Former Chief Legal and Administrative Officer, Gap Inc.
• Jennifer Vogel, SVP, General Counsel, Secretary & Chief Compliance Officer, Continental Airlines

Pamela L. Carter Award

The Pamela L. Carter Award recognizes a woman who was formerly a general counsel and currently is the head of a major business unit or public agency. Her unyielding vision, core values and philosophy of using her achievements as inspiration are critical on her roadmap for success. Pamela L. Carter was General Counsel at Cummins, Inc. before becoming President of the Cummins Distribution Business.

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

Economic Empowerment Awards (3)

Presented in three categories: Firm Wide Policies, Rainmaker and Sharing the Power, these awards recognize progress women have made by measuring what matters: the percentage of women on the executive or management committee, equity partnership committee, compensation committees, and the percentage of women who are relationship managers.

The Firm Wide Policies category of the Economic Empowerment Award recognizes a law firm that has made significant strides in advancing women by measuring what matters: the percentage of women on the executive or management committee, equity partnership committee, compensation committees, and the percentage of women who are relationship managers.

• Firm Wide Policies: Faegre & Benson

The Rainmaker category of the Economic Empowerment Award recognizes an individual women partner for her outstanding business generation efforts and exemplary client service who manages a substantial amount of business that exceeds $ 2.5 million annually.

• Rainmaker Award: Karen Popp, Partner, Sidley Austin

The Sharing the Power category of the Economic Empowerment Award is presented to a woman general counsel or senior leader in the law department and a woman partner at a law firm who have collaborated to increase the economic empowerment of one or more women partners in that firm.

• Sharing the Power Award: H. Gwen Marcus, EVP & General Counsel, Showtime Networks, Inc. and Elizabeth McNamara, Partner, Davis Wright Tremain

Finalists from each awards category will be honored at the May awards ceremony and conference at the Fairmont Chicago.  The 2010 conference was attended by more than 400 senior in-house legal executives.  

The awards entry deadline is Friday, October 29, 2010.  For a complete list of eligibility requirements and entry instructions, please 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 Business Media

Summit Business Media is the leading B2B media company serving the insurance and investment markets. Through its Media and Reference Divisions, SBM publishes 17 magazines, more than 30 targeted industry Websites, and 150 reference titles. The Events Division hosts a dozen conferences supporting these brands. SBM's Data Division is the leading provider of group benefits and retirement prospecting tools and insurance industry financial data. For more information, visit sbmedia.com

SOURCE Summit Business Media