Schellenberg Wittmer Ltd

Schellenberg Wittmer is strongly committed to furthering diversity and inclusion with a focus on gender diversity. There has been a consensus within the partnership to reduce the gender gap which has been reinforced and formalized in 2016 in the Schellenberg Wittmer Gender initiative. The firm has been extremely active in introducing multiple diversity initiatives and measured targets that strongly commit to a more gender diverse workforce especially in the promotion of higher numbers of female representation within leadership and strategic positions.

We are committed to breaking away from past realities and the current cultural norm and to promote equal gender as crucial to the firm's on-going success, strategy, growth and vision. We wish to positively influence the trend upwards and hope the market will follow suite as a result of the positive pressure our firm is applying on the market.

Today the firm has over 25 % women in leadership positions (lawyers and operations), which is higher than the 13-15 % market average.

A dedicated task force led by Partners Caroline Clemetson (Member of the Management Committee) and Stefan Leimgruber put into place a measured plan to translate the firm's vision into a clear business strategy and has set targets in direct connection with succession planning. Below are examples of some of the major projects of the task force substantive program:

• Key Talent Program for Women: with the aim to identify and support talented women at an earlier stage, providing them with coaching and enabling them to be on track to becoming successful partners.
• "Stopping the Clock" in the Partner Track Timeline, including no interruption of progress on partner track during maternity leave.
• Education and Mentoring: training on Diversity & Inclusion; mentoring & information exchange.
• Networking: Launch of the Women in White Collar Crime Defense Association; "Ladies only" dinners; Corporate Membership of Women in Business Society.
• Work-life balance: maternity leave transition policies, remote working, enhanced maternity facilities and policies for new fathers

Tangible results have already occurred in 2019 and 2020, including:

• Schellenberg Wittmer promoted 7 new partners between 2019-2020, 5 of which are women. This sets a remarkable precedent for women in business law in Switzerland as no Swiss firm in history has promoted this many female partners in any given year.
• A further 2 women were promoted at a counsel level (in Switzerland this is one level of seniority below a partner), representing a ratio of over 50 % for total promotions announced as women between 2019 and 2020.
• In May 2019, Caroline Clemetson was elected to the Management Committee by unanimous vote. Schellenberg Wittmer is the first firm in Switzerland to have a women on the management board.
• In 2019, the partnership set a priority to review the firm's compliance framework and standardize all existing policies and a new Diversity, Inclusion and Anti-Harassment Policy has been implemented. This policy reaffirms the firm's commitment towards diversity and inclusion and provides an update on an existing policy on anti-harassment (especially towards women).