Everyone paying attention to the legal marketplace already knows that law firms wanting to prosper must embrace and support diversity. Clients are demanding it. Law students are insisting on it. As a result, the Web sites, firm rsums and promotional materials of almost every major law firm boldly announce a commitment to diversity. Without a doubt, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender LGBT lawyers are benefiting from this trend toward a more inclusive profession. Nevertheless, when it comes to the development of a truly supportive environment for LGBT legal professionals, there remains a good deal of work to be done.

Over the past decade, much has changed with respect to the opportunities for and treatment of LGBT lawyers. In conservative states such as Georgia, this progress has been especially noteworthy. Openly gay and lesbian lawyers now can be found in most of Georgia’s largest law firms, as well as many smaller and medium-sized firms. Some of these lawyers have become partners and assumed leadership positions within their firms. More and more Georgia firms are offering domestic partnership insurance benefits in an effort to curb some of the financial inequities caused by the inability of same-sex couples to marry. The Stonewall Bar Association-Georgia’s bar association for LGBT legal professionals and their allies-was formed in 1995 and boasts more than 230 members. Nearly 20 state and federal judges attended the Stonewall Bar’s annual awards dinner last year.

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