Biglaw Is Good to Gays
Let’s give credit where credit is due. The Human Rights Campaign has released its annual Best Places to Work list. It shows that law firms are great when it comes to creating a non-discriminatory environment for gays and lesbians. The ABA Journal reports:
In 2006, the first year law firms were included in the Human Rights Campaign survey, 12 got a perfect rating of 100 percent [on the Corporate Equality Index]. This year an unprecedented 88 law firms got perfect ratings, “eclipsing every other industry represented on the index,” according to a press release. The group evaluated 127 law firms in all; 124 of them were among the nation’s largest 200 law firms.
Our industry deserves a large pat on the back. In a time of massive layoffs, it is great that law firms are still committed to equality when it comes to sexual orientation.
Check out the list of firms that are good for gays here (PDF).
Top Law Firms for Equality - 2010 [Human Rights Campaign]
Law Firms Outshine Other Companies in Ranking by Gay Rights Group [ABA Journal]
Earlier: Which Law Firms Are Down With the Gays?
(58) Comments
Comments
worst
No shock there. Biglaw has been openly bending associates over and giving them the shaft for decades...
GIven that associates are so accomodating when taking it up the a$$ from partners, is this any surprise? The fact that partners are so used to fellating their clients doesn't hurt the situation either.
Gays to 190!
JaKe Emeritus: please discuss.
2,
You took the words right out of my mouth. It must have been while you were kissing me.
-3
Where is the best place to work for white, conservative, religious males?
What would be the standard to judge their quality of life by?
I let my secretary pound me in the ass everyday at lunch.
JaKe Emeritus
Proud to say my firm did NOT make the list.
-Homophobe Secure
WHO CARES?
Cover CHI based firm offers already! Do some reporting.
5, did 2 take anything else out of your mouth.
6 - Work for the Republican Party. But make sure you have a mistress on the side, or you will NOT be accepted to our party.
Equality: Knowing that Obama is screwing us all on the job front for years to come.
This is really about which firms protect their trans employees. That's the difference b/t a firm w/ a 100% rating and those w/out 100%. Go law firms!!
Shouldn't they just hire the best people possible or is that politically incorrect?
um....FIRST.
fabulous
Let us also remember which firms discriminate against gays:
http://www.abovethelaw.com/images/entries/lolcat%20Sullivan%20Cromwell%20Aaron%20Charney%20Above%20the%20Law%20blog.jpg
Th real question is whether or not gays are good to biglaw.
14 - Not allowed to do that anymore. Have to satisfy the squeeky assholes, um, I mean wheels.
Does this include homosexual men? Everyone loves lesbians, so that is not really something to brag about.
How does Charney feel about S&C's 100 rating? What b.s.
17 - So it's bad if I have discriminating taste?
Latham is #1
6 - Gibson Dunn.
21, No, it's bad if you work for a cat. Did you even click the link?
~17
This is asolutely B.S. - the only way of A GLBT person to succeed in a law firm is to be in the closet. Open gays are pretty much ostracized and will never be made partner. Who cares if you give rights.
no paul weiss??? weird.
T15 3L here. I'm still waiting on my offer, and in the meantime I've also started interviewing for federal district court clerkships. I'm wondering, has anyone really been far even as decided to use even go want to do look more like?
@6 -- Try Tehran
17 - Oh, sorry, I wasn't responding to your weak pic
6 - you make a valid point.
"Your name is Gay Focker?"
27 -- I have. Let me know if you want more details.
27 - Did you go to the Mystal school of internet babbling?
27 - Are you channeling Kenye or what?
34-
Palin, methinks.
23 - isn't it the Gibson website that has the video of gay attorneys discussing diversity on its home page?
25 - and aren't they partners?
I hate homsexuals. What is the best firm for me?
T-10 heterosexual
These ratings mean very little. It only judges a firm by what they have on paper in their policy manual and what sales pitch the diversity committee sells them. Actually talking to gay associates would likely tell a different story for some of these firms. I can attest to that first hand.
These ratings mean very little. It only judges a firm by what they have on paper in their policy manual and what sales pitch the diversity committee sells them. Actually talking to gay associates would likely tell a different story for some of these firms. I can attest to that first hand.
These ratings mean very little. It only judges a firm by what they have on paper in their policy manual and what sales pitch the diversity committee sells them. Actually talking to gay associates would likely tell a different story for some of these firms. I can attest to that first hand.
Mystal's moobs make moar moaning manatee milkshakes.
8 - can I shoot you a resume?
What was the firm with the summer associate who put the partner in a headlock and called him a h*mo and/or f*g? Ha, what a great story. Please tell me they made the list. I am too lazy to look up the story.
"Shouldn't they just hire the best people possible or is that politically incorrect?"
Because, you know, the "best people possible" is such a tiny, tiny, tiny section of their applicant pool.
I hate homsexuals and guys who wear madras. What is the best firm for me?
T-10 heterosexual
27 - it's really a matter of personal to do something like that far more impressive depending on experienced and tested branch out and give it your best all. hope that helps.
"Shouldn't they just hire the best people possible ...?"
Please, that was one of the first groups that fell victim to the recession...
The comments on this board suggest there's still a lot of dismissiveness and skepticism when it comes to LGBT equality in the workplace. Though it's easy to make dick jokes, the fact of the matter is that gays, lesbians, and transgender folks are still discrimintaed on a daily basis at every place on the. Maybe it's the decision (usually based on just a hunch) to not pick the gay associate to have dinner with that defense contrator client, or the decision not to send a gay associate to work on that high profile case in the EDTX. Maybe it's just the fact that there are fewer mentors at the partnership level who see some of themselves in the lesbian associate. Or the fact that in many states it's still perfectly legal to fire an associate because he's gay, and across the entire country, we have to pay an extra federal tax on any health benefits our domestic partners or same-sex spouses receive, because we're not recognized as a family by the IRS. And that's if we're lucky enough to work at one of the few firms that lets us add a partner onto our benefits.
So discrimination, both active and subtle, does exist at even the best firms. To suggest otherwise lacks perspective.
I thought everyone got treated like $hit? There are places that don't suck the soul out of people? I need to look into this
I'm a gay male partner. I've been in law firms for the last 20 years, 11 of them as a BIGLAW partner.
I agree with the commenter who says that it's fallacious to judge firms' friendliness to LGBT persons based solely on their written policies. All it takes to make an LGBT lawyer's or staffer's life miserable is a single homophobic partner and an unwillingness to enforce written policy against that partner. And unwillingness to enforce written policies against partners -- especially rainmakers -- is common, perhaps even the norm.
That said, I have not had a single problem with homophobia in 20 years in law firms. I've been in a committed gay relationship for 14 of those 20 years. My partner attends firm social functions regularly. No one has ever directed a derogatory comment toward either him or me based on our relationship or sexual orientation in all that time. I have never been denied any kind of professional opportunity based on homophobia. My firm regularly takes on LGBT causes pro bono, and usually it's one of the straight partners -- not me -- who leads the charge to handle the matter.
Not only is my experience favorable, but also I've seen plenty of advancement by gays and lesbians in other law firms. To take just one example, two of the stars of the Supreme Court bar -- people who represent well-heeled businesses in Supreme Court arguments, not just pro bono "cause" clients -- are gay men who are partners in private law firms. One is at a firm that openly recruits top-credentialed LGBT candidates. The other is at a firm that, to my knowledge, does not do so.
In short, I think HRC's favorable conclusion about law firms in general is right, but for the wrong reasons. I would not trust its evaluations of individual firms, however, because they're based solely on written policies.
no king & spalding either. (is that really much of a surprise?)
no king & spalding either. (is that really much of a surprise?)
What does Pepin have to say about this?
What does Pepin have to say about this?
What does Pepin have to say about this?
What does Pepin have to say about this?
50 -- As an LGBT law student, I'm curious to know who the stars of the Supreme Court bar are.
Why does Paul Weiss no like LGBT?
One of the "stars" referred to in 50 has to be Paul Smith, who argued Lawrence v. Texas. He's a partner at Jenner & Block, which makes huge LGBT recruitment efforts (but has high standards, at least for appellate work in DC). Can't comment on who the other "star" might be.
I'm glad there are a lot of comments noting how BS this list is. I work at one of the firms with a 100 here (one of the ones based on in DC.) We totally cheated -- HRC said we were supposed to have an LGBT affinity group so we claimed to make one. It's met once in the past two years. But on paper it exists. So we get points for that from HRC.
As other comments have noted these are just written policies. There is still rampant discrimination against gay associates.
I work at a top-1 firm. Of our ~80 partners, three are gay and all were already out of the closet when they were up for partnership. For a bunch of old people, that is a remarkable proportion.