Biglaw, Gay, In-House Counsel

The Bamboo Closet: To Stay In Or Not?

How have Asian-American LGBT attorneys fared in their careers given recent advances in equality?

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This year will be remembered as a watershed year for LGBT rights. On June 26, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of nationwide marriage equality in Obergefell v. Hodges.

But much work remains to be done. Gay and transgender people still face discrimination in many places across the country. Earlier this month, for example, the people of Houston voted down an ordinance that would have offered LGBT individuals greater protection.

What does this shifting landscape mean for LGBT lawyers? And what about LGBT lawyers of color, specifically, Asian-American LGBT attorneys? A panel at the 2015 annual convention of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA), entitled “The Bamboo Closet: To Stay In or Not,” tackled these topics. The panelists:

The panelists, guided by the expert moderation of Connie Montoya, shared a compelling mix of personal stories and practical advice for Asian-American LGBT lawyers. Justice McKenna — the first openly gay judge to serve on the Hawaii Supreme Court, and the first Asian-American LGBT judge on a state court of last resort — described the challenges she has faced due to her multiple minority identities (being a woman, an Asian-American, and LGBT). De Los Santos discussed the difficulties that gay Asian lawyers sometimes encounter when dealing with the weight of family expectations, both professional and personal (in his case, the expectation that he marry a woman and become a father). Tsai, who represents many companies based in Asia, identified the complexities that can arise when addressing identity issues in a cross-cultural context. He also stressed the importance of making sure that a prospective employer has a critical mass of LGBT lawyers. (Red flag: when a partner asks during an interview, “What does ‘LGBT’ stand for?”)

Perhaps the most powerful and passionate comments on the panel came from Rachel See, currently a lawyer at the NLRB and previously a partner at Williams Mullen in Richmond. Regarding the debate about whether to come out, she noted that transgender individuals when they transition are forced to come out — you have to tell all of your colleagues to address you by a different name and using different pronouns. It’s much more complex than coming out as gay, which is easier to do gradually if you like. Transgender lawyers should think about where and when they are comfortable transitioning, See advised.

“I was a partner at Williams Mullen. I was laid off in 2010, and it saved my life,” See said. “I wouldn’t have felt comfortable transitioning in that environment.”

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See noted that she had enough privilege, both economic and professional, that her worst fears didn’t come true. She left the firm and joined the NLRB, which was a great place to transition. When she announced her intent to transition, NLRB senior leadership said, “We’re going to get this right.” And they did — which made a huge difference.

But Rachel knows other transgender lawyers, still in Biglaw, who are not so fortunate.

“I am friends with closeted trans partners,” she said. “They tell me, ‘I can’t come out — I’d lose half my clients. Maybe my firm wouldn’t fire me, but I’d lose all these clients.'”

The challenges facing transgender lawyers span all levels of seniority in the legal profession. Rachel See pointed out that during on-campus interviewing, the callback rates for trans law students are “abysmal,” even if they have great credentials. She urged the LGBT community to “not throw the ‘T’ under the bus” and to scrutinize the records of LGBT organizations they’re thinking of supporting to see where they stand on trans rights.

Being out, even in today’s increasingly supportive environment, still presents challenges. But the panelists seemed to agree that coming out is worth the cost — even if you have to take your time about it and figure out when you feel comfortable doing so, or even if you are perhaps pushed out a little earlier than you planned. Remaining in the closet takes such a psychological toll.

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The real issue, according to David Tsai, “is being your authentic self.” You don’t need to shout your sexual orientation from the rooftops, but you do need to be comfortable among your family, friends, and colleagues. He described how being closeted was a burden that weighed him down for so many years.

“It depressed for me so long,” Tsai said. But after coming out, “I didn’t have to sleep as much. I could get so much done!

And that — for hardworking, high-billing, productivity-obsessed lawyers — might be one of the most persuasive arguments of all.

2015 Annual Convention [National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA)]

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