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Inside Business Article Describes Striefsky as Role Model for Women

Thompson Hine partner Linda A. Striefsky is the Cleveland winner of the 2012 Northeast Ohio ATHENA Award. Striefsky is featured in an article in the May/June issue of Inside Business magazine.

Presented annually by Inside Business since 2003, the ATHENA Awards honor those who demonstrate excellence, creativity and initiative in his or her business or profession; provide valuable service by contributing time and energy to improve the quality of life for others in the community; and actively assist women in realizing their full leadership potential. The award is administered by ATHENA International in Chicago.

Striefsky is the second Thompson Hine recipient of the ATHENA Award in the last two years, and the 11th recipient from Cleveland. Newly elected managing partner Deborah Z. Read received the award in 2010. Striefsky and Read are the only law firm recipients from the Northeast Ohio area.

"As one of our firm's first female lawyers, Linda was instrumental in paving the road for others to follow," said Read. "She works hard for her clients and for organizations within the Cleveland community, and we congratulate her on this well-deserved recognition."

Striefsky has been a role model in actively supporting other female professionals. Throughout her career she has been a devoted mentor to many women and actively serves as a catalyst to bring women together in the community. The article quotes Geralyn Presti, general counsel, vice president and secretary at Forest City Enterprises, who has worked with Striefsky for more than 25 years. "Linda continues to be a role model for me as a lawyer, colleague, mother, spouse and friend," she says. "She inspires me to keep learning and growing to reach my potential."

Striefsky is the immediate past president of The American College of Real Estate Lawyers, the premier honorary organization for commercial real estate lawyers in the United States. She also is a member of the Anglo-American Real Property Institute, whose membership is limited to 50 commercial real estate professionals from each of the United Kingdom and the United States. She is listed in Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business, The Legal 500 United States, Super Lawyers (which named her one of the Top 50 Women Ohio Lawyers) and The Best Lawyers in America. Striefsky also has been named a Commercial Real Estate Woman of Influence by Real Estate Forum and a YWCA Woman of Professional Excellence.

"I am honored to be recognized, and to join the ranks of such highly accomplished women," said Striefsky. "Law firms and businesses have come a long way since I started practicing, and I am proud to have been a part of the discussion. I very much enjoy working with young lawyers on their professional development and truly believe in the importance of diversity and inclusion initiatives at law firms and corporations."

Beyond the legal profession, Striefsky is a committed member of the community, serving as a board member, officer and co-chair of the Arthritis Foundation's Governance Committee, a board member of The Musical Theatre Project and a past board member and current member of the Chair's Council for ideastream.

Striefsky's recognition is the latest in a series of accolades Thompson Hine has received in the Cleveland community, and on behalf of its women lawyers. On May 8, the firm received the Best-in-Class award for Middle Market Senior Management Diversity from the Commission on Economic Inclusion, a program of the Greater Cleveland Partnership, for "building and maintaining a diverse and inclusive organization," the first law firm to receive such an award. Last month, the firm received two Diversity & Inclusion Innovation Awards, presented by the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association (CMBA); the Diversity & Inclusion Trailblazer Award, presented to a law firm or corporate legal department that contributes to an inclusive culture, and the CMBA's inaugural Diversity & Inclusion Pioneer Award, awarded to former managing partner David J. Hooker, which is given to a lawyer who has pioneered and/or championed diversity and inclusion in the legal profession. In 2011, the firm was named by the National Association for Female Executives (NAFE) and Flex-Time Lawyers as a Best Law Firm for Women, and was recognized by The Project for Attorney Retention as a top-tier firm for the promotion and advancement of women. In addition, the firm was one of only 32 U.S. law firms to receive Gold Standard Certification from The Women in Law Empowerment Forum. The firm also was named by the Law and Leadership Institute as the first law firm to receive its Law Firm Volunteer Award.

About Thompson Hine LLP

Established in 1911, Thompson Hine is a business law firm dedicated to providing superior client service. The firm has been recognized for ten consecutive years as a top law firm in the country for client service excellence in The BTI Client Service A-Team: Survey of Law Firm Client Service Performance. With offices in Atlanta, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, New York and Washington, D.C., Thompson Hine serves premier businesses worldwide.