Big Law continues to improve how it supports lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer employees, while outpacing corporate America once again.

More law firms than ever before earned perfect scores in the Human Rights Campaign Foundation's latest Corporate Equality Index⁠—130 out of 164 participants in 2020 according to a table in the report. In the 2019 report, 114 of 164 participants earned the highest possible rating.

The latest result compares favorably to the Fortune 500, where just 59.6% of businesses submitting information earned perfect scores. The HRC invited the 200 highest grossing law firms in the U.S. to participate in its evaluation, and 79.3% of those firms hit a score of 100.

"Year after year, the highly competitive legal field continues to be the sector with the largest number of top-rated employers in the Corporate Equality Index," Beck Bailey, director of the HRC Foundation's Workplace Equality Program, said in a statement. "This consistent excellence shows that law firm leaders know that LGBTQ inclusion is absolutely essential in attracting and retaining top attorneys and staff."

⁠With the exception of last year's results, the number of law firms receiving perfect scores has been steadily rising. In 2017, the organization assigned 127 perfect scores, a step up from 2017, which saw 112 perfect scores. That in turn was a rise from 95 in 2016 and 87 in 2015.

Six law firms that did not participate in 2019 were part of this year's results.

The survey, which is voluntary, evaluates the nation's largest companies and top-grossing law firms, the Am Law 100 and 200, in four areas: nondiscrimination policies based on sexual orientation, gender identity and expression; equitable benefits for LGBTQ workers and their families; supporting an inclusive culture and corporate social responsibility including public commitment to LGBTQ equality; and responsible citizenship.

Meanwhile, the question of whether a federal law against workplace discrimination protects gay, lesbian and transgender employees remains in the hands of the U.S. Supreme Court, which held oral arguments on the applicability of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in October.

The HRC praised the more than 260 top businesses—191 of which earned top scores on the CEI—for their public support of the Equality Act, a proposed federal law that would  guarantee explicit, permanent protections for LGBTQ people under the nation's existing civil rights laws.

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