Rainbow flag, Credit: Wikimedia/Ludovic Bertron

Slaughter and May has jumped 55 places in a list of the best U.K. employers for LGBT+ staff by equal rights charity Stonewall, as Pinsent Masons beat its legal sector competitors for the fourth consecutive year.

The Magic Circle firm took 15th place in the charity's overall list of the top 100 list of employers for 2020, which highlights the progress and commitment U.K. organisations make towards lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans equality in the workplace. In total, 14 law firms were included in the rankings.

"Our significant rise in the rankings reflects our continued efforts as a firm towards greater LGBT+ inclusiveness," said Ewan Brown, diversity and inclusion partner at Slaughter and May, in a statement.

"This year, we made a conscious decision not to focus on LGBT+ in isolation, but instead to build on the firm's existing work in this area by collaborating with the firm's other employee networks around topics such as mental health and parenting. The resulting combined messaging has been powerful and really resonated across the firm."

Pinsents came in at fourth place in the overall rankings this year and was once again the highest placing law firm. Travers Smith and Baker McKenzie came in at joint 12th place within the total list.

Other firms listed in the rankings include Hogan Lovells (17th), Clifford Chance (19th), Allen & Overy (22nd), DWF (30th), Eversheds Sutherland (35th), Taylor Wessing (51st), Leigh Day (55th), Linklaters (62nd), Mayer Brown (64th), and Irwin Mitchell (74th).

Pinsent Masons and Leigh Day were also credited by Stonewall as being some of the top trans-inclusive employers in the U.K.

Last year, Pinsents was named the U.K.'s best employer for LGBT staff in the same rankings. Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner was in second place in 2019, but does not feature in the list.