Ballard Spahr Chief Diversity Office Virginia G. Essandoh has joined the Advisory Board of Women Owned Law (WOL), a national organization that supports women-owned law and legal services firms.

WOL works to create networking opportunities and to increase visibility for women entrepreneurs in the legal world, while also gathering more data on women-owned law firms. The group, which was founded in Philadelphia in 2016, launched nationally in May.

"I'm thrilled to join this exciting new organization," said Ms. Essandoh. "I look forward to collaborating with women in firms of all sizes and in all practice areas to figure out how to best work together and support the success of each other."

As Chief Diversity Officer at Ballard Spahr, Ms. Essandoh is responsible for overseeing, implementing, and providing strategic leadership to the firm's diversity and inclusion initiatives. She also provides strategic guidance and tactical support to the Ballard Women affinity group, helping to develop business and professional advancement opportunities for female lawyers.

Since 2014, Ms. Essandoh has been a Fellow in the College of Law Practice Management, a nonprofit organization for legal professionals. College Fellows work to develop, exchange, and disseminate legal professional knowledge based on their respective specialty areas.

WOL's Advisory Board, which is composed of 16 members, will work closely with its Board of Directors. Ms. Essandoh plans to be active in the organization's Diversity and Inclusion Task Force.

About Ballard Spahr

Ballard Spahr LLP, an Am Law 100 law firm with more than 500 lawyers in 13 offices in the United States, provides a range of services in litigation, business and finance, real estate, intellectual property, and public finance. Our clients include Fortune 500 companies, financial institutions, life sciences and technology companies, health systems, investors and developers, government agencies and sponsored enterprises, educational institutions, and nonprofit organizations. The firm combines a national scope of practice with strong regional market knowledge. For more information, please visit www.ballardspahr.com.