Some Law Firms Reach Out to Gay Attorneys

By Daniel Ostrovsky
Daily Business Review
June 29, 2007

Richard A. Wilson, chairman of the National Lesbian and Gay Law Association, recalls that as recently as 2002 only a couple of law firms made the trip to recruit at the group's Lavender Law Career Fair.

In 2003, the National Association for Law Placement began analyzing information about the number of openly gay and lesbian lawyers at law firms.

By 2004, the Lavender Law Fair attracted 40 firms to its Minneapolis conference. More than 70 firms attended the fair in San Diego in 2005. Last year, the fair attracted more than 120 firms to Washington, D.C. In September, more than 140 firms are expected in Chicago.

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"All of a sudden -- overnight -- we went from nothing to something in terms of interest," said Wilson, who has his own law firm in Chicago.

Gay lawyers always have made important contributions in the legal profession, whether they are out or not. In today's cutthroat recruiting environment for legal talent, however, more large firms are aggressively reaching out to talented gay lawyers just as they do with racial and ethnic minorities and women.

One driving factor is that clients increasingly ask about the number of gay and lesbian lawyers at law firms, according to gay lawyers and law firm leaders. Some gay and lesbian clients feel more comfortable working with lawyers of the same sexual orientation.

To read the complete article, go to lawjobs.com.