Women in Law Empowerment Forum (WILEF) is set to launch its gold standard certification in the U.K. within two weeks, to recognise law firms that have achieved certain standards of gender diversity.

It first launched in the U.K. in 2015 and will open applications for the certification in London on March 18.

WILEF, first founded in New York in 2007, launched its first U.S. certification four years later. 

Law firms may apply for either the U.K. or U.S. certificate, or both. The initial list of successful firms will be published in June.

Those unable to make the March deadline may apply until mid-September and still be added to the list.

WILEF global chair and co-founder Elizabeth Anne "Betiayn" Tursi said: "We have a lot of firms in the U.S. that will never make it – not in a million years – because they simply don't promote women to leadership roles. And it will be very interesting to see what will happen in the U.K.

"I would hope three out of four firms get the certificate, but I reckon that won't end up happening."

She added: "I'm interested to see which law firms will apply for both the U.K. and the U.S. certificate and which will actually certify for both."

WILEF is set to launch in Paris – initially without the certification – on April 11. Tursi said if there ends up being a demand for it, they might consider the certificate for the region. It continues to look at demand for WILEF in other parts of the world.

One recruiter told Legal Week that when advising general counsel in the U.S. on how to encourage their legal advisers to work harder on diversity, one thing they advise is to use only law firms with the gold standard certificate. The recruiter said they will likely give this advice to U.K. GCs once the certificate launches in London.

The requirements for U.K. firms to get the gold standard certificate are:

• Either (a) at least 20% of the firm's U.K. equity partners are women, or (b) at least one third of the lawyers who became U.K. equity partners in the previous 12 months are women. (Not mandatory, rather becomes one of five criteria. Firms must meet three of five.)
• At least 20% of the firm's primary governance committee are women.
• At least 20% of the global equity partners on the firm's committee for determining equity partner compensation are women.
• Women constitute at least 15% of the top half of global equity partners in terms of compensation.
• A firm's U.K. women equity partners must be (a) at least 7% non-white, or (b) at least 3.5% LGBT.

Tursi said that although the certification will be on a smaller scale in the UK at first because it is the first year, London is still the second most successful market – after New York – for WILEF, and she expects its U.S. reputation to translate to the U.K.

She said: "I have no doubt in my mind that it will catch on."