Diversity
- Leaders in Diversity
- Women's Network
Co-Chairs:
Colleen M. Devanney
513.842.8123
cmdevanney@vorys.com
Sachiyo Isoda Peterson
614.464.6499
sipeterson@vorys.com
The Vorys Women’s Network is focused on the development, retention and advancement of women at the firm.
The Vorys Women’s Network hosts and supports a variety of programs throughout the year including:
- Office-specific programs covering topics such as career management, client development, networking, mentoring, leadership and community involvement.
- Networking events with firm leadership, alumni, clients and friends of the firm.
- Annual Women’s Summit which brings together women from across the firm to learn from and connect with each other, as well as guest speakers, clients and community leaders.
- Local, regional and national organizations and events geared toward the success of women in law and business. For example, the firm and our women lawyers support the YWCA Columbus, the Women’s Fund of Central Ohio, NAWBO Columbus, Women for Economic and Leadership Development (WELD), the American Bar Association (Commission on Women in the Profession and the Gender Equity Task Force), Ohio Women’s Bar Association, Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW), International Women’s Insolvency & Restructuring Confederation (IWIRC), Association for Corporate Growth (ACG) Cincinnati Women’s Committee, and Girls Inc. of Greater Houston, among others.
We are proud of the recognition our firm has received for its support of women lawyers and for the impact many of our women lawyers have had on the profession and the community.
Vorys earned the WILEF Gold Standard Certification in 2019 and was certified again in 2020. Under new more stringent criteria, Vorys is one of only 48 law firms across the United States to have earned the WILEF Gold Standard Certification designation in 2021.
- Vorys was among the first law firms in Ohio to hire women, and we have continued this commitment through the years, recruiting and promoting lawyers of all backgrounds, thus becoming a firm of both historic “firsts” and continuing distinction. These include:
- The first woman in Ohio elected as a fellow to the prestigious American College of Trial Lawyers
- The first African-American woman elected to the Columbus Bar Association’s Board of Governors
- One of the National Law Journal’s 50 Most Influential Women Lawyers in America for 2007
- A former chair of the American Bar Association’s Commission on Women in the Profession
- Women are well represented on the firm’s committees, including the Management Committee, Diversity and Inclusion Committee, and the committees responsible for hiring and evaluating associates.