Law Firms Rated
on LGBT Partners, Associates, Other Diversity Criteria

About one fifth of large New York law firms do not have gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender partners or associates, according to new data by Building a Better Legal Profession, a grassroots organization composed of law students. The findings, released Wednesday in Washington, D.C., are part of a larger report rating law firms in six markets -- New York, Washington, Boston, Chicago, Northern California, and Southern California -- on the diversity of their partners and associates.

In New York, 14 of the 69 New York firms included had no openly LGBT partners, while 16 had no LGBT associates. Women, another category rated, made up less than 25% of partners at every Manhattan firm surveyed, according to the report.

Sullivan & Cromwell, which faced allegations of sexual harassment from a gay associate earlier this year, topped the list in the partner category, with 10 partners (8.8%) identifying as LGBT.

In D.C., 17 out of the 42 firms included in the survey had no openly LGBT partners, while nine of them had no out associates. (The Advocate)