NEW YORK – May 8, 2015 — The international law firm Greenberg Traurig LLP and 11 of its attorneys have been shortlisted for 11 awards for Euromoney Legal Media Group’s annual “Americas Women in Business Law Awards,” including two firmwide categories, “Best International Firm Latin America Practice” and “Best International Mentoring Program.” The awards ceremony will take place June 3 at Essex House in New York.
According to the Euromoney website, firm and country/regional winners are judged on their ability to support the development of women in the legal profession and provide a work/life program that empowers women to pursue legal careers. Criteria include the ratio of female-to-male lawyers (at all levels of seniority), the retention of women associates to partner level, and relevant diversity initiatives. Individual winners are judged on their professional accomplishments as well as advocacy and influence within their field over the last 12 months.
The firm and its attorneys were shortlisted in the following categories:
Best International Firm Latin America Practice
Greenberg Traurig’s prominent Latin America and Iberian Practice spans across 15 offices, bringing together multilingual and multicultural lawyers located in Amsterdam, Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Miami, New York, Orlando, West Palm Beach, Silicon Valley, and Washington, D.C. The practice is led by a woman, Patricia Menéndez-Cambó. Overall, women comprise approximately 25 percent of the Latin America Practice, and approximately 20 percent of the shareholders in the group are women.
Best International Mentoring Program
Greenberg Traurig’s mentoring program, open to all associates, is a signature component of the firm’s Associate Development Program and a top priority for the Greenberg Traurig Women’s Initiative. Associates have the opportunity to nominate a shareholder mentor based on similar practice area, leadership style, or other factors. In addition to pairing associates with mentors, the firm organizes professional development programs for mentor pairs.
Best in Environment - Kerri L. Barsh (Miami)
Barsh, co-chair of Greenberg Traurig’s national Environmental Practice, represents public and private clients on an array of environmental regulatory, permitting and litigation matters. She is also recognized for her pioneering work in floating infrastructure, which included her 2012 argument before the U.S. Supreme Court regarding a landmark admiralty jurisdiction matter. The Court’s decision in Jan. 2013 to treat Barsh’s client’s floating home as real estate made larger projects within the industry a reality.
Best in Life Sciences - Lori G. Cohen (Atlanta)
Cohen has a national litigation practice focusing on product liability litigation and specifically, medical device and pharmaceutical litigation. She is National Counsel for numerous medical device and pharmaceutical companies, handling litigation including class actions, multidistrict litigation, and trials nationally. She is recognized for her trial practice, having obtained 56 defense verdicts at trial.
Best in Litigation – Hilarie Bass (Miami)
Bass, co-president of the firm, previously completed an eight-year term as the national chair of the 600-member litigation department. During her more than 30-year career, she has successfully represented clients in commercial cases in jury and non-jury trials involving hundreds of millions of dollars in controversy.
Best in Tax – Mary F. Voce (New York)
Voce, chair of Greenberg Traurig’s International Tax Practice, concentrates her practice on corporate and international tax. She handles both inbound and out-bound corporate and international tax planning for U.S. and foreign corporations, U.S. federal taxation of partnerships, limited liability companies, funds, and joint ventures. She also handles U.S. federal tax aspects of cross-border corporate mergers, acquisitions and reorganizations, taxation of real estate investments, securities offerings by U.S. and foreign corporations, international projects, and equipment leasing and financing.
Best in Tax Dispute Resolution – G. Michelle Ferreira (San Francisco)
Ferreira is the firm’s managing shareholder in San Francisco, where she counsels individuals, partnerships, estates, and corporations in tax disputes with the Internal Revenue Service and state and local tax agencies, including the California Franchise Tax Board, the State Board of Equalization, the Employment Development Department, and county assessment appeals boards. As a former tax litigator for the Internal Revenue Service, Ferreira represents clients before the IRS and state and local tax agencies at the audit, collection, appeals, and litigation stages.
Best in Tax Dispute Resolution - Barbara T. Kaplan (New York)
Kaplan, co-chair of Greenberg Traurig’s Tax Practice and chair of its Tax Controversy Practice, focuses her tax litigation practice on domestic and foreign corporations, partnerships, and individuals in federal, state, and local tax examinations, controversies, and litigation, including administrative and grand jury criminal tax investigations.
Best in Trademark - Susan L. Heller (Los Angeles)
Heller, chair of Greenberg Traurig’s Global Trademark and Brand Management Practice , is consistently recognized and honored by her clients and peers as having one of the pre-eminent trademark practices in the country. Highly visible Fortune 500 companies, world champion athletes, and A-list entertainment personalities turn to Heller when the stakes are high and their critical brands are at risk. Heller also co-chairs the Greenberg Traurig Women’s Initiative.
Best in Wealth Management – Linda B. Hirschson (New York)
Hirschson, chair of the New York Estate Planning Group, focuses her practice on all aspects of estate planning and administration and is a past member of the Board of Regents of the American College of Trusts and Estates Counsel (ACTEC). Hirschson develops estate plans for high net worth U.S. and non-U.S. individuals, enabling them to dispose of their assets during life and at death in a manner that meets their personal goals and is as tax efficient as possible.
Best in Wealth Management – Diana S.C. Zeydel (Miami)
Zeydel, national chair of the Trusts & Estates Practice, focuses her practice on estate, business succession, and tax planning for high-net-worth individuals and families. Her practice includes planning for U.S. and non-U.S. citizens and residents. She specializes in sophisticated intra-generational wealth transfer strategies, business succession planning, and complex transfer tax controversies. Zeydel is a past member of the Board of Regents of the American College of Trusts and Estate Counsel and immediate past chair of its Estate and Gift Tax Committee.
Rising Star: Intellectual Property – Julie P. Bookbinder (New York)
Bookbinder focuses her practice on patent, trademark, copyright, trade secret litigation, patent prosecution, and non-litigation enforcement of trademarks and copyrights.
Rising Star: Tax – Erika G. Litvak (Miami)
Litvak concentrates her practice on taxation, with special emphasis on international taxation. She assists individuals with offshore income tax and estate planning, expatriation, pre-immigration tax planning, and structuring investments in the United States, among many other issues that relate to private client work.
Greenberg Traurig is proudly committed to its women lawyers’ success, which includes a firmwide women’s affinity group encompassing recruiting, retention, and business development. The firm works with like-minded organizations to address these issues on a broader scale in a variety of industries and communities. Greenberg Traurig also takes thoughtful action to address issues such as maintaining a healthy work-life balance, breaking the glass ceiling, mentoring, taking charge of your health, and giving back to the community.
Greenberg Traurig’s clients benefit from the firm’s diversity of all kinds – its diversity of perspectives, experience, backgrounds, practices, and locations, and of course the diversity of its people. It’s what enables the firm to put together the best teams of lawyers to help clients with their unique business opportunities and legal challenges.