Women in Leadership Roles at Fowler White Boggs

A diverse workforce is a core component of Fowler White Boggs’ Diversity Mission. Perhaps the best evidence and reflection of the firm’s mission statement lies in the number of leadership positions held by the firm’s minority and women attorneys. At Fowler White, we enhance professional opportunities, and create a positive, supportive environment for the firm's women.

We have women in every leadership role at our firm, at all different levels, and throughout our different offices. Women attorneys serve as directors, practice group leaders, committee chairs, and executive partners. At Fowler White, women comprise more than half of our workforce. Three women hold administrative leadership positions, and in addition to the firm’s president, women also manage two out of our five different offices.

Fowler White continually encourages all of its attorneys-including its women lawyers-to be active leaders in professional and civic organizations, and good citizens of the communities in which they live. Our women are among the most prominent members of the business and legal communities. The firm’s women support and lead organizations like the American Heart Association, Tampa Bay Advisory Council, The International Women’s Forum, Moffitt Cancer Center, and The Ophelia Project-to name a few. Fowler White is proud of the recognition for our women’s efforts as leaders of these different organizations in all of the regions that we serve.

• 23% of Fowler White’s leadership is comprised of women & minorities.
• Four Fowler White Boggs female attorneys were recognized among the 2013 Top 50 Female Florida Super Lawyers:  Cathy J. Beveridge (Employment & Labor); Amelia M. Campbell (Estate Planning & Probate); Hala A. Sandridge (Appellate); and Linda L. Shelley (Land Use/Zoning).  Hala A. Sandridge was also listed as a Top 100 Florida Super Lawyer.
• Kimberly A. Gessner, an attorney in the firm’s Commercial Litigation Practice Group, has been appointed by in-coming President Eugene Pettis to the Construction Law Certification Committee of The Florida Bar.  Ms. Gessner will serve a three-year term commencing June 1, 2013.
• The Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council has awarded Rhea F. Law, Chair and CEO of Fowler White Boggs, with the 2012 Herman W. Goldner Award for Regional Leadership.  The award is presented to an individual who exemplifies the spirit of regional cooperation in the Tampa Bay area, while showing dedication to the community and having notable achievements in encouraging a regional vision. 
• The Women in Law Empowerment Forum (WILEF) has recognized Fowler White Boggs with its 2012 Gold Standard Certification for integrating women into the highest levels of firm leadership. This is the second year in a row Fowler White Boggs has been awarded this certification.  The Gold Standard Certification emphasizes the leadership roles achieved by women partners, rather than the overall number or percentage of women in the partnership.  Law firms with 100 or more practicing lawyers in the United States were eligible if they successfully demonstrated that women represent a meaningful percentage of their equity partners, of their highest leadership positions, of their governance and compensation committees, and of their most highly compensated partners.
• Sarah Lahlou-Amine received the annual Pro Bono Award from the Appellate Practice Section of The Florida Bar. The award is given to a member of the Appellate Practice Section who has made significant pro bono efforts in appellate matters.  The Florida Bar Appellate Practice Section enhances the role and skills of Florida Bar members who are engaged in appellate practice through study, continuing legal education, the dissemination of materials on matters of interest and concern to the Section’s membership, and the exchange of ideas and information among the membership. 
• 10% of the 2012 Top 50 Florida Female Super Lawyers were from Fowler White Boggs. Cathy J. Beveridge, Amelia M. Campbell, Rhea F. Law, Hala A. Sandridge and Linda Loomis Shelly were selected to the list. Ms. Sandridge was also listed as a Top 100 Florida Super Lawyer.
• Rhea F. Law, CEO and Chair of the Board, was recently selected as a winner of the 2012 Glass Ceiling Award by The Florida Diversity Council at the second annual South Florida Women’s conference. The Glass Ceiling Awards recognize women who have achieved personal success in leadership roles as well as made it possible for other women to follow in their footsteps.
• Rhea F. Law, CEO and Chair of the Board, has been selected to serve on the Multicultural Advisory Council (MAC) of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida, Inc. (BCBSF). The goal of the MAC is to accelerate the company’s leadership efforts in expanding its diversity and cultural awareness in business markets throughout the state.
• Hala A. Sandridge, managing shareholder of the Tampa office, has been appointed Director of The Florida Bar Foundation for a three year term beginning July 1, 2011.  
• Jennifer G. Roeper and Sarah Lahlou-Amine were honored for their outstanding pro bono work by the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit.  Ms. Roeper received an award for “Outstanding Pro Bono Service by a Lawyer” and Ms. Lahlou-Amine was recognized as a Pro Bono Award Pin Recipient for contributing over 100 pro bono hours within the community.
• Cathy Beveridge has been elected to the Board of Directors of the Trust for Florida’s Children. The mission of the Trust for Florida’s Children is to assist the state in carrying out its purposes and responsibilities regarding the prevention of child abuse, abandonment, and neglect; the promotion of adoption; and the support of adoptive families by raising money from private foundations and individuals.
• Rhea F. Law, Chair of the Board, and CEO of Fowler White Boggs was awarded the University of South Florida President’s Fellow Medallion by President Judy Genshaft at the USF graduation ceremonies on August 7, 2010. Established in 1988, the President's Fellow Medallion is awarded at the President's discretion to highly distinguished meritorious individuals.
• Rhea F. Law, Chair of the Board, and CEO of Fowler White Boggs has been appointed to the Board of Directors of the Pasco Economic Development Council (PEDC). The PEDC was created in 1987 to foster the economic vitality and business development opportunities of Pasco County, Florida. The PEDC is committed to positive growth to make Pasco County a great place to live and work. The mission of The Pasco Economic Development Council will lead Pasco County in the creation of a sustainable and diversified economy.
• Rhea F. Law, Chair of the Board, and CEO of the Firm has been inducted into the NAIOP Tampa Bay Chapter’s Hall of Fame. Rhea is a former president of the NAIOP State and Tampa Bay Chapters and currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Tampa Bay Chapter. In addition, she has received numerous recognitions for her creation and operation, over 20 years, of the Tampa Bay Watch Program – an award winning monthly program which brings government and agency leaders together with the NAIOP membership.
• Rhea F. Law has been named “Tampa Land Use & Zoning Lawyer of the Year for 2010” and Linda Loomis Shelley has been named “Tallahassee Land Use & Zoning Lawyer of the Year for 2010” by Best Lawyers.
• Rhea F. Law, Chair of the Board, and CEO of the Firm has been selected by Tampa Bay's Business Professional Women as their 2009 Woman of the Year.
• Andrea Zelman, a shareholder in the Firm's Land Use and Zoning Practice Group has been selected for Leadership Tampa, class of 2010.
• Donna L. Longhouse, a shareholder in the Firm's Wealth Preservation, Trusts and Estates Practice, has been selected to the Board of Trustees of the Community Foundation in Tampa Bay. 
• CEO of the firm, Rhea Law, is also the Green Law Leader.
• Linda Shelley is the Office Managing Shareholder for the firm’s Tallahassee office.
• Hala Sandridge, is the Office Managing Shareholder for the firm’s Tampa office.
• 25 years ago, women attorneys initiated informal marketing/mentoring program.
• Monica Mason is a leading Trademarks lawyer according to Who’s Who Legal 2008, and she is also the firm’s Trademarks and Trades Team Leader.

For more information, please contact:

Cathy Beveridge
Women's Initiative Chair
501 East Kennedy Boulevard
Suite 1700
Tampa, FL 33602
T (813) 228-7411
F (813) 229-8313