Major U.K. Law Firms are Becoming LGBT-Friendlier
A number of leading British law firms have become more supportive of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender attorneys and employees in recent years, making the legal profession one of the “one of the most gay-friendly careers in the U.K.,” reports Legal Week.
A recent survey by the British legal publication found that nearly 20 percent of respondents believed law firms had improved “a lot” during the past five years, as far as their treatment of gays and lesbians is concerned, and 36 percent cited “a fair amount” of improvement.
However, there is still apparently plenty of room for additional improvement:
“My firm has 160 partners in London and not one of them is an ‘out’ gay. To me this speaks volumes,” an unnamed lawyer at a London magic circle firm tells Legal Week. “It is more of a fear of prejudice than anything, because you are surrounded by Oxford and Cambridge-educated men you might be judged and so you become internalized.”
