diversity; glbt; lgbt; Lavender Law
The numbers of openly GLBT and disabled lawyers have increased but only slightly
On May 24, NALP's Board voted to engage pro bono counsel to write an amicus brief on behalf of NALP in the case of FAIR v. Rumsfeld, a lawsuit that challenges the legality of the Solomon Amendment on First Amendment grounds.
A look at the Supreme Court decision in the Lawrence v. Texas case.
The 2013 Lavender Law Conference and Career Fair provided a reminder of the contributions NALP and the LSAC have made to the inclusion of LGBT lawyers in the profession.
About 47% of offices in the 2009-2010 NALP Directory of Legal Employers reported at least one GLBT lawyer.
LGBT law students and lawyers may face unique concerns in their job searches. These resources can help.
NALP Executive Director James Leipold shines a spotlight on the gaps that exist for people of color at the partnership and associate levels of law firms, arguing that closing the gaps can lead to true progress on diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Research: LGBT Representation Among Lawyers in 2016, NALP Bulletin, January 2017
Here are some suggestions for ways NALP members can make a difference in the areas of equality, diversity, and civil rights in our field.
Safe Space programs have been instituted to establish an easily identifiable network of allies who can provide support and mentoring.
The overall percentage of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) lawyers reported in the 2018 NALP Directory of Legal Employers (NDLE) increased to 2.86%, compared with 2.64% in the 2017 NDLE. Increases were seen across all lawyer types and ranged from less than a 0.1 percentage point gain for counsel and non-traditional track attorneys to about a 0.35 percentage point gain for associates. The percentage of offices reporting LGBT counts has been relatively stable at about 90% of offices since 2008. About half of these reporting offices reported at least one LGBT lawyer among partners and associates in 2018.
Resources for LGBTQ+ information
The questions were different at this Lavender Law. Students were no longer asking whether to be out in the job search process but rather how out they can be. . . .
In the best NALP tradition, in the course of one afternoon, I learned a great deal about two topics on which I actually knew very little.
In the last five years or so, we have seen a mini-explosion of openly transgender students enrolling in or transitioning at law schools across the country.
In addition to breaking attendance records, Lavender Law moved to an earlier date this year to better coincide with other fall recruiting.
The numbers of GLBT lawyers reported in the NALP Directory of Legal Employers increased again in 2009. Will your organization be reporting these statistics in 2010?
This year for the first time law schools will be asked to report the number of GLBT students enrolled when the report demographic data to the NALP Directory of Law Schools. Here is some background - and some suggestions for collecting that data.
The overall percentage of openly LGBT lawyers reported in the NALP Directory of Legal Employers in 2013 increased to 2.19% compared with 2.07% in 2012.
Once LGBTQ candidates are hired, will they find a supportive environment? Here is a look at some of the issues facing LGBTQ law students and lawyers today.
Transgender veterans need allies within NALP now more than ever to show their support.
Nikki Harris of the William S. Boyd School of Law, University of Nevada – Las Vegas explores best practices for advising law students about nontraditional appearance in a conservative legal field.
Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law’s Ray English outlines five steps for being anti-racist.
NALP Research, LGBT Representation Up in 2012, January 2013
New NALP Research on LGBTQ Lawyers By Gender in U.S. Law Firms, November 2023
NALP non-discrimination policy changed to reflect Solomon Amendment struggle.
Lavender Law Despite Economic Climate
The repeal of DADT marks the formal end of an historic period of discrimination that often played itself out in law school career services offices around the country, but questions remain.
About 60% of the openly LGBT lawyers reported in the current NALP Directory of Legal Employers are accounted for by just four cities: New York City, Washington, DC, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.
The 2011 Lavender Law Conference and Career Fair drew 140 legal recruiters, over 500 students, and 1,500 legal professionals.
Listening closely to students' preferences and concerns and helping them realistically assess the pros and cons of being out when applying for internships or jobs is central to effective counseling of LGBT students.
The overall percentage of openly lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) lawyers reported in the NALP Directory of Legal Employers (NDLE) in 2017 increased to 2.64% compared with 2.48% in 2016.
Lane Powell’s Melissa Berry examines benevolent stereotyping in the legal profession.
Elon Law’s Jennifer Gibert Mencarini shares lessons learned from recent cultural competence training sessions.
The number of GLBT lawyers reported in the NALP Directory of Legal Employers -- and also the number of disabled lawyers reported -- remains small.
The Solomon Amendment represents more than a closed door for employment with the military by GLBT students who do not conceal their sexual orientation; on many campuses it is viewed as an affront to students, employers, and faculty and staff.
In coming weeks and months, as part of their amelioration strategies, law schools should actively engage students, faculty, and staff to work with members of Congress to repeal the military's ban on lesbian, gay, and bisexual military personnel.
The Supreme Court upholds the Solomon Amendment.
Career counselors can do their own homework on employers to support LGBT students in finding internships and jobs that are right for them.
Here are some resources that can help LGBT law students evaluate potential employers.
This article captures the experiences of three openly GLBT attorneys who practice outside major metropolitan markets and shares their advice to career services professionals and legal employers.
As a leader, how can you interrupt minimization in the workplace, and the exclusionary world it creates? By leveraging authenticity in how you live, lead, and work. Ritu Bhasin is the president of bhasin consulting, inc., a leading diversity and inclusion-focused consulting firm.
Four strategies for challenging unconscious bias at law firms: be the first out of the gate, drop hints, verbalize the unconscious, and counteract it, and get allies to help communicate the unconscious.
NALP, 50th Anniversary, Executive Director, Jim Leipold, column, 2021, 1971, history, future, pandemic, 2020, remote work, virtual, coronavirus, events, happy, celebration
Director of Research Danielle Taylor examines data on LGBTQ lawyers.
Pride in the workplace for GLBT persons
NALP has never before been asked to submit an amicus brief before the Supreme Court, and doing so is surely a defining moment in the association's history...
On October 27, 2005, over 570 members and friends of the LGBT legal community gathered in San Diego to attend the 2005 Lavender Law Conference organized by the National Lesbian and Gay Law Association (NLGLA).
These tips can help you create a better institutional environment for LGBT law students or lawyers.
The overall percentage of openly LGBT lawyers reported in the NALP Directory of Legal Employers in 2014 increased to 2.30% compared with 2.19% in 2013, although there are wide geographic disparities in the numbers reported.
With the DADT repeal, it is likely that CSO professionals will have to take the initiative in hosting conversations with faculty, students, and law school deans about how to approach military recruiting and military careers.
The overall percentage of openly LGBT lawyers reported the the 2012 NALP Directory of Legal Employers increased to 2.07% compared with 1.88% in 2011.
Creating a safe and inclusive CSO environment begins with educating administrators and counselors.
Here are some suggestions for taking LGBT counseling or recruitment to the "201" level.
The decision in the landmark case of Bostock v. Clayton County, consolidated with Zarda and Harris Funeral Homes, extends protections under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to LGBTQ employees and job applicants in the United States and U.S. territories. Law schools and legal employers must update their non-discrimination policies or equal employment opportunity statements to include “sexual orientation and gender identity and expression.” They should also actively promote this extension of Title VII protections throughout their organizations.
José Bahamonde-González and Melanie Rowen interview four lawyers about professional attire for non-binary legal professionals.
The spring and summer 2020 news prominently featured the killing of Black people, highlighted issues of systemic racism, and protests around those killings and issues. A law school career services professional discusses the personal and professional impact.
Sandra Day O’Conner College of Law, Arizona State University’s Alfred Ray English provides two keys for creating a diverse, equitable, and inclusive work environment.
Chapman Cutler’s Shannon Burke and Jessica Hoffer offer tips for increasing cross-departmental collaboration and communication among the recruiting and DEI functions at legal employers.
representation of LGBT lawyers at major U.S. law firms
A lawyer who transitioned while working at an Am Law 200 firm offers advice to other firms that want to support transitioning attorneys.
Women, minorities, LGBTQ+, and disabled employees should be significantly represented in senior organizational roles — one sign of a commitment to diversity and inclusion.
What Do We Know About Transgender Law Graduates?, NALP Bulletin, December 2019
NALP Research on Diversity & Demographics
Creating and enforcing a comprehensive nondiscrimination policy is one of the first steps toward making a law campus supportive for LGBT students and helping to ensure that all students have the best career prospects possible.
Andrew Chapin looks back at 20 years of LGBT history within NALP.
The overall percentage of openly LGBT lawyers reported in the NALP Directory of Legal Employers in 2015 increased by a very small amount to 2.34% (from 2.30% in 2014), with most of the increase attributable to associates.
Longtime NALP Executive Director James G. Leipold has received this year’s President’s Award for his service to the association over the course of 18 years. Leipold plans to retire in October.
NALP Research, LGBT Representation Up Again in 2013, January 2014
NALP: Non-Binary Resources
A reader wrestles with the difficult issue of military hiring.
Even as we await a decision next summer from the United States Supreme Court about whether or not the Solomon Amendment violates the First Amendment, NALP member law schools continue to face on-campus recruitment visits by the United States military
A dilemma ensues each year as law schools try to balance the obligations required under the Solomon Amendment, while attempting to ameliorate, as required by the AALS, any harm or possible harm that is or may be suffered by gay and lesbian law students
The 2010 Lavender Law Conference was an impressive testament to the dedication of employers, law schools, and practitioners to supporting the LGBT legal community.
In-depth look at words of diversity and inclusion, and how they impact law firms.
The final installment of a three-part series about dismantling racism in the legal profession by Alison Ashe-Card, Molly Stafford, and Nicole Netkin-Collins is part of the 50th Anniversary Commemorative Edition of the NALP Bulletin.
Amy Kimmel, Nicholas Martinez, and James G. Leipold explain that the honorific Mx. will become familiar to you and your colleagues in time with deliberate and intentional work as the legal profession gets more and more diverse and inclusive.
William & Mary Law School’s Moriah Berger Allen reviews the book by 2021 NALP Annual Education Conference speaker Haben Girma, Haben: The Deafblind Woman Who Conquered Harvard Law.
Employee Resource Groups are a growing trend in organizations that wish to manifest a commitment to diversity and inclusion and provide a context for minority employees to contribute to their firm's or company's strategic business objectives.
Some institutions in our society, including many law schools and legal employers, are becoming increasingly aware of transgender issues. Here are suggestions for learning more.
Twelve NALP members served as volunteer career counselors at this year's Lavender Law Career Fair and found their services in great demand.
Learn how one school planned and hosted a successful LGBT Diversity Reception that allowed openly LGBT students and attorneys to network and demonstrated the school's commitment to LGBT diversity in the legal community.
While most firms now collect GLBT lawyer information, the number of openly GLBT lawyers reported remains small.
This article explains what it means to create a safe space or safe zone for GLBT or questionning students, how to decide whether to create a safe space, and how to develop a safe space program.
The overall percentage of openly LGBT lawyers reported in the 2010 NALP Director of Legal Employers rose slightly compared to 2009, although the numbers remained relatively small.
From the fight to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" to the constitutional challenge of California's Proposition 8, 2010 was an active year for LGBT advocates.
NALP is changing the way it collects information about a variety of demographic categories, including race and ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation.
Starting with the Class of 2014, NALP expanded the demographic information collected on law school graduates to include sexual orientation and gender identity, thus yielding NALP's first employment outcome analyses in this area.
Chapman and Cutler’s Shannon Burke provides tips on supporting diversity committees and diverse partners at law firms.
NALP Research, LGBT Representation Among Lawyers in 2014, March 2015
NALP Research: LGBT Representation Among Lawyers in 2015
Following up on law month's article on the challenges faced by transgender people in the job search process, this month's article focuses on the steps that employers can take to create non-discriminatory workplaces.
A common challenge for career service professionals, legal employers, and students is where to find the necessary resources to educate themselves and their respective constituencies about GLBT issues.
After more than a decade of gentle activism, increasing visibility, and education, gay and lesbian attorneys are self-identifying in 65% of the New York firms listed in the NALP Directory of Legal Employers.
Here are some suggestions for counseling LGBT students conflicted about ally support and for navigating power struggles that can sometimes occur.
Why should your school report on LGBT enrollment in the NALP Directory of Law Schools and how can you get started? Here are some tips from the schools already reporting that information.
Learn about new gender identity and sexual orientation questions coming with data collection for the Class of 2014 — and about why the LGBT Section will soon become the SOGIE Section.
Students often have trouble differentiating legal employers, and for the LGBT student, it can be even more difficult. Here are some ways law schools and employers can help.
Quoting from Eddie S. Glaude’s Begin Again, NALP Executive Director James G. Leipold examines how the story of greater quality in the legal profession doesn’t match up with the data on employment outcomes for white people against Black people and people of color.
This year NALP’s Jobs & JDs: Employment and Salaries of New Graduates — Class of 2019, available at www.nalp.org/bookstore, features the first in-depth analysis of employment and salary outcomes for non-binary law school graduates.
NALP Deputy Director Fred Thrashes highlights trends in member demographics and leadership over the past 50 years as part of NALP’s 50th Anniversary in 2021.
This second of a three-part NALP Bulletin series addresses the personal and systemic steps involved with dismantling racism and white supremacy to attain a legal profession that is diverse, equitable, and inclusive.
Schulte Roth & Zabel’s Doug Ebeling and McGeorge School of Law’s Molly Stafford describe how to navigate office dynamics while striving to create a welcoming and supportive environment for gender non-binary individuals.
NALP Executive Director James G. Leipold highlights the positives, and the work that remains, from the association’s 2021 Report on Diversity at U.S. Law Firms, available at www.nalp.org/reportondiversity.
Part 2 of the article series on recent legislation targeting anti-trans and non-binary individuals by authors Rafael Langer-Osuna of Squire Patton Boggs, University of California Berkely School of Law’s Melanie Rowen, and Molly Stafford of the University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law.
NALP Research on Non-Binary Law School Graduates, December 2020
LGBTQ Lawyers & Graduates
Profiles of three openly GLBT lawyers and their advice to law students.
Solomon Amendment update.
Concerns included fears that jobs would be taken away from ethnic minority students and that the pool of applicants would be "diluted."
Representation of LGBTQ representation among lawyers for 2019, according to NALP's Directory of Legal Employers.
While it may take some thought and practice, we all need to get used to the singular use of the English pronoun “they” and all its derivatives.
How NALP works with various organizations across the legal profession, including ABA, the NLGBT Bar, PLANC, NACE and other boards and commissions.
"Does what happens in the corridors of law firms have anything at all to do with Ferguson, Baltimore, and Charleston? … I would respectfully suggest to you that the answer is yes, they are related."
Does your organization collect and report LGBT information in the NALP directory? Here are some reasons reporting is beneficial — and some tips for getting started before the next data collection cycle.
Gihan Fernando and Morgan Smith look back at how NALP’s involvement with the Solomon Amendment and other efforts have helped move the legal profession forward in striving for equal treatment for LGBTQ+ lawyers and law students.
NALP Research, LGBT Representation Among Lawyers in 2018, February 2019
NALP has an unequivocal and longstanding non-discrimination policy that includes sexual orientation, and insists upon adherence to fair and non-discriminatory access in legal recruitment.
Many students, not just LGBT students, gauge an employer's commitment to diversity and quality-of-life on the employer's stance on such prominent social issues as the Solomon Amendment.
Bar associations, law firms, and law schools in other areas may find the research and recommendations of the CBA Task Force helpful in formulating their own diversity initiatives.
NALP offers resources that are helpful when assisting GLBT law students and alumni.
The repeal of DADT does not resolve all of the discrimination faced by LGBT persons in the military, nor does it repeal the Solomon Amendment.
Squire Patton Boggs’ Rafael Langer-Osuna, University of California Berkely School of Law’s Melanie Rowen, and Molly Stafford of the University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law examine what NALP members need to know about recent legislation that targets non-binary and transgender individuals.
Jenner & Block’s Courtney Carter and University of Colorado Law School’s Nicole Netkin-Collins explain the best practice of stating personal pronouns proactively, because gender identity and therefore personal pronouns cannot be assumed.
New NALP President Karl Riehl of Epstein Becker Green summarizes important takeaways from the first in-person Annual Education Conference (AEC) in three years that took place during April in New Orleans.
NALP Executive Director James G. Leipold underscores the importance of legal employers and law schools striving to create environments where most people can feel that they belong.
NALP Research: LGBT Representation Among Lawyers in 2019
