Andrea S. Kramer to Receive Prestigious "Women With Vision" Award

CHICAGO (October 6, 2011) —  International law firm McDermott Will & Emery LLP is pleased to announce that the Women’s Bar Association of Illinois (“WBAI”) has named partner Andrea S. Kramer a recipient of its “2011 Women with Vision Awards.”  Ms. Kramer, who joins a distinguished list of past honorees that includes First Lady Michelle Obama, will be honored at the WBAI’s Joint Professional Dinner on November 3.

The Women with Vision Awards were first presented in 1997 by the WBAI to honor and recognize women who have demonstrated visionary approaches in their professional endeavors and who have made contributions to the well-being and empowerment of women. This annual event recognizes women from various professions who have excelled within and outside those chosen professions. Each of this year’s three honoree exemplifies the Joint Professional Dinner’s 2011 theme, “Lawyers First, Leaders Always.”

“It is our privilege and delight to honor Andie at this year’s Joint Professional Dinner  recognizing three of Chicago’s outstanding women in the law,” says Deane B. Brown, President of the Women’s Bar Association of Illinois. “Andie has served the legal profession while also taking a visionary approach to reaching out to others in the community. She has been a remarkable and influential voice in support of professional women, gender equality and at-risk populations that include women, children and elders.” 

“We are enormously proud of Andie who is so deserving of this recognition,” commented Jeffrey E. Stone, co-chair of McDermott Will & Emery, based in Chicago. “She is an exceptionally talented lawyer committed to her clients’ success, passionate about public policy issues, and devoted to advancing women in the profession.”

“A nationally recognized authority on the taxation of financial products, Andie has played an important role in helping to shape regulatory policies,” added Peter J. Sacripanti, co-chair of McDermott, based in New York. “She has also championed women in the law and been a powerful advocate for gender diversity and equal rights in the workplace.”

Ms. Kramer focuses her legal practice on the world of derivative financial products - their taxation, management, trading, regulation and documentation - as well as energy and commodity trading, contract negotiation, dispute resolution, and implementation of the Dodd-Frank legislative changes to the over-the-counter derivatives markets. She is a member of McDermott’s Tax Practice Group and head of the Firm’s Financial Products, Trading and Derivatives Group, co chair of the Energy Services Group, and is a member of its Global Renewable Energy, Emissions and New Products Group and its International Dispute Avoidance and Resolution Group.  Ms. Kramer is a member of the Firm's Management Committee.

Ms. Kramer is the author of Financial Products: Taxation, Regulation, and Design (3rd ed CCH 2006), the leading treatise on financial products law which has been cited over 80 times by courts and tax commentators. In addition, she has written over 140 articles on topics including derivatives taxation, operational and reputational risk in trading operations, insurance coverage versus use of derivatives, energy trading and corporate governance.

Ms. Kramer is a frequent speaker at conferences and workshops, having made over 270 presentations on trading activities, hedging, and derivatives. For the past 30 years, she has been invited to address the Treasury Department and the IRS on a wide range of financial product issues. She is also an adjunct professor at Northwestern University School of Law.

Among her many leadership roles at the Firm, Ms. Kramer chairs McDermott’s Gender Diversity subcommittee, which has developed policies and initiatives to ensure the value of a diverse firm. She has spoken at more than 30 national diversity conferences, trade association meetings, and professional service firms on the importance of assuring women equal access to career opportunities and leadership roles.

Ms. Kramer has a varied and distinguished record of community outreach as well. Among these, she co-founded and Chairs the Board of the Women’s Leadership and Mentoring Alliance to bring professional women together to mentor and support leadership opportunities for professional women. Ms. Kramer is also founding board member and chair emeritus of the board of The Women’s Treatment Center, a Chicago-based residential and outpatient treatment facility for alcohol and substance abuse. She is Chair of the Board of the Chicago Foundation for Women, one of the largest women’s funds in the world, and serves on the Executive Planning Committee of the Eamon Shannon Special Education Program, which works with the Pro Bono Center for Disability and Elder Law.

About McDermott Will & Emery

McDermott Will & Emery is a premier international law firm with a diversified business practice. Numbering more than 1,000 lawyers, the Firm has offices in Boston, Brussels, Chicago, Düsseldorf, Houston, London, Los Angeles, Miami, Milan, Munich, New York, Orange County, Paris, Rome, Silicon Valley and Washington, D.C., and a close strategic alliance with MWE China Law Offices in Shanghai.