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CLEVELAND - May 24, 2012 - Thompson Hine LLP is pleased to announce that it has again received national recognition for its leadership in advancing women within the legal profession. The firm has been named to MultiCultural Law magazine's 2012 rankings of the Top 100 Law Firms for Women. This is the fourth time the firm has been listed by the publication.

Thompson Hine, through the efforts of its Spotlight on Women® initiative and its Diversity & Inclusion Initiative, is committed to attracting, retaining and supporting a diverse workforce. The strength of that commitment is most evident in the makeup of the firm's leadership, with a woman serving as the firm's managing partner and nearly 40 percent of its Executive Committee comprised of women and minorities. Women and minorities also serve as practice group leaders and office partners-in-charge.

Spotlight on Women is multifaceted. The initiative has an external focus that includes hosting and sponsoring premier events to facilitate the development of relationships with professional women in markets where the firm has a presence. Internally, its resources are devoted to helping the firm's women lawyers take charge of their leadership potential, develop self-assessment tools and build professional leadership plans. For many years, the firm has broken new ground with a variety of female-driven and female-attended events, including seminars, panel presentations, networking receptions and roundtable discussions.

'Our repeated inclusion in the rankings as a Top 100 Law Firm for Women is a reflection of our long-term efforts to support and promote women," said Heidi B. Goldstein, chair of the firm's women's initiative. "Spotlight on Women continues to be a pacesetter in the legal profession."

Deborah Z. Read, Thompson Hine's managing partner, noted that, "We are dedicated to diversity at all levels at the firm. We recognize that diverse teams will yield better results for our business and our clients." Read is one of only 10 women in the role of managing partner at Am Law 200 firms.

The MultiCultural Law recognition is the latest in a series of accolades the firm has received for its commitment to workplace diversity. 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. In April, the firm received two inaugural Diversity & Inclusion Innovation Awards presented by the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association (CMBA). Thompson Hine received CMBA's Diversity & Inclusion Trailblazer Award, presented to a law firm or corporate legal department that contributes to an inclusive culture for its workforce, with its clients and/or within the community. Former managing partner David J. Hooker was awarded the Diversity & Inclusion Pioneer Award, 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 recognized by The Project for Attorney Retention as a top-tier firm for the promotion and advancement of women. In addition, Thompson Hine was one of only 32 U.S. law firms to receive Gold Standard Certification from The Women in Law Empowerment Forum.

Additionally, Cleveland real estate partner Linda Striefsky is featured on the cover of the current edition of Inside Business magazine as their Cleveland ATHENA Award winner. Striefsky is the second Thompson Hine recipient of the ATHENA Award in the last two years and the 11th recipeient from Cleveland. Newly elected managing partner Read received the award in 2010. Read and Striefsky are the only law firm recipients from the Northeast Ohio area. Read has also been announced as a 2012 Woman of Note by Crain's Cleveland Business.

About Spotlight on Women. Spotlight on Women has been and continues to be a leader in the advancement and promotion of women within Thompson Hine, the legal profession and the broader business community. With partner-level chairs in each office and lawyer and staff members, the initiative brings together professional women to support their personal and career development and to facilitate their advancement and promotion. For more information, please see the Women's Initiative page on Thompson Hine's website.

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.