Sedgwick Named One of the Best Places to Work for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Employees
Law Firm Earns Perfect Score in HRC Corporate Equality Index
SAN FRANCISCO, October 4, 2010 - Sedgwick Detert Moran & Arnold LLP is pleased to announce that it has once again earned a perfect score in the Corporate Equality Index (CEI). The 2011 edition was released on October 1 by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation (HRC). This year’s CEI rated 618 businesses on a scale from 0 to 100 percent on their treatment of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) employees, consumers and investors. 335 of those companies earned a perfect score. These workers are protected from employment discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity or expression because of their employers’ policies on diversity training, health care and domestic partnership benefits.
“We are proud that Sedgwick earned a perfect HRC rating for the third consecutive year,” said Sedgwick Chair Michael Tanenbaum. “We foster an inclusive environment in which our LGBT employees, as well as our employees from every ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender and background are supported and are given opportunities to excel.”
“Sedgwick’s support of its LGBT employees extends far beyond policies and sponsorships,” said James Holmes, Sedgwick partner, head of the firm’s LGBT Action Committee and member of the American Bar Association’s Commission on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity. “Sedgwick demonstrates its profound support of the LGBT community by the firm’s leadership, regardless of their sexual orientation, attending LGBT events, mentoring LGBT attorneys, leading LGBT pipeline initiatives, and creating a culture in which everyone’s perspective is heard and respected.”
Sedgwick’s LGBT Action Committee is one of the firm’s five affinity groups that offer targeted mentoring, communication and advocacy on behalf of diverse attorneys. Members of Sedgwick LGBT Action Committee serve as leaders, speakers and members of a wide range of LGBT organizations, including Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), the National LGBT Bar Association and the Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom (BALIF.) Its members also dedicate their pro bono time to the LGBT community through efforts including contributions to a landmark research study by Campus Pride, a national nonprofit working to create safer, more LGBT-inclusive colleges.
The firm’s other affinity groups address the needs of African American, Asian American, Hispanic American and women attorneys. Additionally, Sedgwick’s diversity program includes a governing Diversity Committee, which collaborates with the firm’s practice group leaders and managing partners to ensure Sedgwick recruits, retains and advances diverse lawyers. |