Leslie Firtell named one of Ernst & Young’s 2012 Entrepreneurial Winning Women

LESLIE FIRTELL, PRESIDENT & CEO, TOWER LEGAL SOLUTIONS

named one of the Ernst & Young LLP 2012 Entrepreneurial Winning Women™

Leslie Firtell is one of 11 winners recognized nationwide with this prestigious award

NEW YORK – Tower Legal Solutions, today announced that Leslie Firtell, President & CEO, was named one of Ernst & Young LLP’s 2012 Entrepreneurial Winning Women. Leslie is one of 11 exceptional women entrepreneurs recognized throughout the country with this prestigious award.

Now in its fifth year, the Entrepreneurial Winning Women program is a national competition and executive leadership program that identifies a select group of high-potential women entrepreneurs whose businesses show real potential to scale — and then helps them do it.

The program has spurred dramatic growth. According to a recent independent impact assessment directed by the Babson College Center for Women’s Leadership, revenues of program participants’ companies have grown almost 50% each year on average, with a corresponding 25% average annual growth in the number of jobs.

“I am thrilled and honored to be named one of the 2012 Ernst & Young Entrepreneurial Winning Women,” said Leslie Firtell, President and CEO, Tower Legal Solutions. “The resources and network that I’ll be able to access through this program will help me take my company to the next level. We’ve grown more than 280 percent over the last two years and are now at a crucial inflection point in our journey. Expanding a company’s footprint at this rate can be challenging, but I’m confident that the Entrepreneurial Winning Women program will provide me with the additional tools I need to scale rapidly.”

Tower Legal Solutions is a full-service legal staffing and managed review company that provides experienced legal professionals and e-discovery project management support to law firms and corporations. The company prides itself on unmatched client service, accountability and transparency in the client/candidate relationship, which, when combined, enhance project and staffing success.

The winners represent a wide variety of industries and headquarter locations. They were selected from a highly competitive pool of women entrepreneurs across the US by a distinguished panel of independent judges, including:

• Howard Brodsky, Chairman and CEO, CCA Global Partners
• Cynthia Cohen, CEO, Strategic Mindshare
• Laurie Cunnington, President, Ward Williston Oil Company
• Dr. Mary Jo Gorman, CEO, Advanced ICU Care and a 2011 Entrepreneurial Winning Woman
• Jeri Harman, Managing Partner, Avante Mezzanine Partners
• Rob Scott, VP and Worldwide General Manager, Hewlett Packard
• Mary Ellen Sheets, Founder, Two Men And A Truck

“Over the past five years, the Entrepreneurial Winning Women program has grown into a highly competitive platform to help women entrepreneurs think bigger and scale their companies to new heights,” said Kerrie MacPherson, Partner and Entrepreneurial Winning Women Executive Sponsor, Ernst & Young LLP. “Leslie is an exceptional business leader with extraordinary potential, and we are pleased to honor her as one of this year’s winners.”

Women entrepreneurs are among the brightest spots in the American economy, starting businesses at a tremendously fast rate. Despite a volatile market and high unemployment, nearly half of privately held companies in the country are now at least half-owned by women. The Entrepreneurial Winning Women program aims to increase the number of leading women-owned companies by providing key resources and supporting their business growth. 

Launched in 2008, the program is intended to help women entrepreneurs break through the barriers that keep thriving second-stage businesses from scaling to their full potential. Once selected, the entrepreneurs participate in an ongoing, customized program designed by Ernst & Young to catalyze their companies’ growth by building and fostering critical relationships, enhancing leadership skills, expanding business know-how and providing increased visibility. They are coached on the five crucial leaps they need to scale up their business:

• Setting higher goals
• Building a public profile
• Working on the business, rather than in it
• Establishing key advisory networks
• Evaluating financing for expansion

The program has spurred dramatic growth. According to a recent independent impact assessment directed by the Babson College Center for Women’s Leadership, revenues of program participants’ companies have grown almost 50% each year on average, with a corresponding 25% average annual growth in the number of jobs.

The 11 members of the Entrepreneurial Winning Women Class of 2012 will receive complimentary participation in this year’s Ernst & Young Strategic Growth Forum. The Forum brings together more than 2,000 of the nation’s most successful entrepreneurs and business leaders to share growth strategies. The Entrepreneurial Winning Women will be introduced at a special luncheon induction ceremony and will be provided with numerous opportunities to network throughout the conference with successful entrepreneurs, senior executives and investors who can act as formal or informal advisors, provide access to capital and extend their extensive business relationships to the women entrepreneurs.

About Leslie Firtell

A 15-year veteran and pioneer of the legal staffing industry and an attorney herself, Leslie introduced the benefits of legal staffing to law firms and corporations before it was a common practice. In 2007, seeing the limitations of the traditional staffing model, she founded Tower Legal Solutions with a passion for providing her clients with the highest level of customer service in legal staffing and managed review. She envisioned a service-oriented model that empowered clients with effective control and oversight, and she engaged committed candidates through targeted job opportunities. By focusing on both sides of the contract lawyer equation, Leslie is proud to have generated a loyal customer and candidate base that is unsurpassed in the industry. As a well-respected leader in the industry, she has built a dynamic and experienced team of industry professionals, all of whom are equally dedicated and committed to the success of their clients and candidates. Leslie received her BA from the University of Rochester and her JD from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. Tower Legal Solutions is a WBENC-certified woman-owned company, and Leslie is an active member of the Women Presidents’ Organization, which is dedicated to supporting and empowering women entrepreneurs. Photos are available upon request.

About Tower Legal Solutions                          

Tower Legal Solutions builds collaborative relationships to deliver value with unmatched client service. We provide superior, personalized services that reflect your workflow processes, technological preferences, and workspace needs. A woman-owned, full-service staffing and managed review company, Tower Legal Solutions provides clear lines of communication and accountability for project and candidate success. We are up front and transparent about fees, candidate qualifications, timelines, and responsibilities, enabling greater predictability and project efficiency. Our team listens carefully and acts quickly to match experienced legal talent and project management resources to fit projects of any size or scope. To learn more about us, including links to follow us on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn, visit www.towerls.com.

About Ernst & Young’s Strategic Growth Markets Practice

Ernst & Young LLP’s Strategic Growth Markets (SGM) practice guides leading high-growth companies. Our multi-disciplinary team of elite professionals provides perspective and advice to help our clients accelerate market leadership. SGM delivers assurance, tax, transactions and advisory services to thousands of companies spanning all industries. Ernst & Young is the undisputed leader in taking companies public, advising key government agencies on the issues impacting high-growth companies and convening the experts who shape the business climate. For more information, please visit us at www.ey.com/us/strategicgrowthmarkets, or follow news on Twitter at EYSGM.

About Ernst & Young

Ernst & Young is a global leader in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services. Worldwide, our 167,000 people are united by our shared values and an unwavering commitment to quality. We make a difference by helping our people, our clients and our wider communities achieve their potential.

For more information, please visit www.ey.com.

Ernst & Young refers to the global organization of member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, does not provide services to clients.