Minneapolis firm Nilan Johnson Lewis already had outsized success in elevating women to its equity partnership for a number of years. But the 61-lawyer practice crossed a milestone earlier this month when it became one of the largest firms in the U.S. to become certified as a woman-owned operation.

Leaders at Nilan Johnson first began considering the certification from the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council roughly a decade ago, owing to the high number of women shareholders it had at the time. But it wasn’t until 2019, when the firm’s founders began transitioning out of their original roles and into retirement or supporting positions that they set out to secure the recognition.