Positive Steps

How can firms and organizations take a more inclusive approach to support LGBTQ2+ professionals and staff? And how can others show support through workplace policies and initiatives?

“As IP professionals managing our firms, there is a lot we can do to promote LGBTQ2+ rights in the legal profession,” said Raquel Flanzbaum, partner, Ojam Bullrich Flanzbaum (Argentina).

Among the socially conservative countries of Latin America, Argentina is leading the way in recognizing and protecting gender identity as a fundamental human right. In July, the government issued Decree no. 476, which allows residents, including non-citizens, who identify themselves as nonbinary, to obtain a nonbinary identity document.

Ms. Flanzbaum welcomes this development, but she warned that law firms and their leaders cannot be complacent.

“Although the world of IP practitioners in Latin America is quite structured and conservative, we can help to deliver change. We know that changes in the law push social transformation, and this is a good thing, but we cannot sit idly waiting for the appropriate statutes to generate such changes,” she emphasized. “We ourselves must be agents of change and make those we need.”

In her view, it is crucial to introduce a selection process for new employees, partnerships, and promotion opportunities that considers only personal and teamwork skills, and ignores gender orientation, as well as ideological, physical, or religious factors.

“This includes a blind hiring selection method via which law firms can take a more inclusive approach to hiring LGBTQ2+ professionals, and which allows them to incorporate more talent without any conditions or biases, including gender-based ones,” Ms. Flanzbaum explained.

Leading the Way

Brian Winterfeldt, founder and principal, Winterfeldt IP Group (US), and a LGBTQ2+ campaigner, believes that to deliver progress, it is vital that an organization’s leadership embrace diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) goals, including the greater representation of the LGBTQ2+ community within the profession.

His impression that law firms are still falling behind is borne out by research carried out by the National Association for Law Placement, Inc. (US), an organization that tracks diversity in the U.S. legal profession. Its 2020 “Report on Diversity in U.S. Law Firms” revealed that only 2.19 percent of law firm partners and less than 5 percent of regular associates identified as being part of the LGBTQ2+ community.

The overall percentage of LGBTQ2+ lawyers reported in 2020 increased by approximately one third of a percentage point, rising to 3.31 percent. LGBTQ2+ representation among summer associates continued to grow at a much faster pace, increasing by 0.8 percentage points, from 6.86 percent in 2019 to 7.68 percent in 2020, the report found.

According to Mr. Winterfeldt, “The first step toward progress is to create a genuinely inclusive culture that comes from the top down. The firm’s managing partner and executive team need to prioritize and model inclusion, setting examples for the partners, more junior attorneys, and staff.”

He added that a firm should offer training to all attorneys and staff about what it truly means to be inclusive—bringing in outside diversity experts if needed—and ensuring that any diversity-related training includes LGBTQ2+ matters.

Additionally, law firms must ensure that policies and benefits are inclusive, he said, noting: “Dress codes can require a certain level of professionalism but should not be gendered or require a traditional gender presentation, and maternity/paternity benefits should be available to all, regardless of sexual orientation or how one’s family is created.”

Benchmark Efforts

Nancy Mertzel, principal and founder of Mertzel Law PLLC (US), suggested that one way to ensure a firm is on the right track is to see how it scores on the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index (CEI). The CEI is a U.S. benchmarking tool on corporate policies, practices, and benefits pertinent to LGBTQ2+ employees.

The CEI rates workplaces on their LGBTQ2+ friendliness, including nondiscrimination policies that include sexual orientation and gender identity, transgender inclusive benefits, and sensitivity training—“all of which firms can and should implement to support and attract LGBTQ2+ attorneys and staff,” Ms. Mertzel said.

She added: “It is important to publicize a firm’s efforts internally and externally so that LGBTQ2+ personnel and potential applicants know they are seen and welcome—and that being ‘out’ is not only safe but encouraged.”

Another way to make a difference is to engage in supplier diversity initiatives that include LGBTQ2+ attorneys and law firms, she said. For example, the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce (US) can provide referrals to LGBTQ2+-owned vendors.

Ms. Mertzel urged U.S. law firms to join a diversity pledge, the Mansfield Rule, whereby signatories commit to consider at least 30 percent women, lawyers of color, LGBTQ2+, and disabled attorneys for leadership and other opportunities. The Diversity Lab devised the rule, which is aimed at increasing diversity in law firm recruitment and promotion practices in the United States; it is named after Arabella Mansfield, the first woman admitted to the Bar in the United States.

Role Models

Allies and role models in the form of mentors are fundamental to help make LGBTQ2+ individuals feel comfortable and equal in their workplaces.

Michael Hawkins, partner, Noerr Alicante IP, S.L. (Spain), and the co-chair of INTA’s 2021 Presidential Task Force on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, agreed that mentorships and visible representations are crucial in all law firms.

“This starts with sending simple signals of acceptance and support, but also recognizing that prejudices still exist and taking steps to address them when they appear,” he said. “Ultimately, this allyship leads to improvements within teams, better staff motivation generally, and a stronger team spirit.”

He added that “visibly diverse people at the top echelons of a firm help to inspire more junior members and can also serve as mentors.”

However, Mr. Hawkins warned: “Minority professionals or staff, as well as potential new recruits, can spot tokenism a mile off and will either not join or not give their all to a firm that does not genuinely treat them as an equal.”

Among his suggestions on how to help attract more diverse candidates from the LGBTQ2+ community, he said that firms could place job advertisements in specialized media with this readership.

In addition, crucial to the emergence of a genuinely diverse culture is the creation of “safe spaces”—physical places designed for marginalized individuals to gather to share experiences, and where issues can be discussed openly and without fear.

“Dialogue and communications in this area should always be unthreatening and positive, focusing on the numerous benefits of being an equal opportunities workforce,” said Mr. Hawkins.

The creation of affinity groups within law firms such as an LGBTQ2+ network is also important.

Mr. Winterfeldt noted that if a firm is large enough, it should have an LGBTQ2+ affinity group or at least “warmly welcome” LGBTQ2+ team members in the general diversity committee. A firm that is smaller or does not have many openly LGBTQ2+ members should support and encourage external engagement in industry-related diversity groups.

Global organizations such as Out & Equal (US) focus exclusively on LGBTQ2+ workplace equality. U.S.-focused groups such as the Human Rights Campaign and The Trevor Project offer easily accessible, free resources on allyship.

Specifically in the legal profession in the United States, the National LGBTQ+ Bar Association (US) offers an inclusion coaching and consulting program and hosts its annual Lavender Law Conference & Career Fair, bringing together LGBTQ2+ legal professionals from across the country. Elsewhere, the Institute for Inclusion in the Legal Profession (US) aims to tackle the barriers that limit entry and advancement to the legal profession based on age, color, culture, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity and expression, geography, nationality, race, religion, or sexual orientation.

In the United Kingdom, diversity network IP Inclusive has a division, IP Out, to support LGBTQ2+ people and their allies working in the IP profession. It provides networking opportunities and organizes events.

Worldwide, organizations supporting this community include Grupo Gay da Bahia (Brazil); Oii-Chinese (China); Colombia Diversa (Colombia); Arcadie (France); Humsafar Trust (India); Israeli Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Association (Israel); Pink Dot SG (Singapore); Intersex South Africa (South Africa); and International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (Switzerland).