Matt Rolf Attorney LLC

Conscious Inclusion of the LGBT Community in a Small Law Firm

by Matt Rolf, Laurel Parkins-Turner and Darby Hickey - March 2024

-If done properly, a firm's commitment to hiring LGBTQ+ staff will carry through to its work environment and the clients who hire it. In this article, we show how a small or medium-size law firm without an HR department can build an inclusive hiring process, work environment, and client intake system to create a positive work environment and serve more clients.

As of 2023, the National Association for Law Placement (NALP), reported that 4.57% of all lawyers identified as LGBTQ+. Additionally, in 2023 11.67% of summer associates identified as LGBTQ+, increasing 2.3% from the 9.37% of summer associates that identified as LGBTQ+ in 2021. As younger lawyers feel more comfortable openly identifying as LGBTQ+, law firms will need to take into account how they recruit these lawyers.

If done properly, a firm's commitment to hiring LGBTQ+ staff will carry through to its work environment and the clients who hire it. In this article, we show how a small or medium-size law firm without an HR department can build an inclusive hiring process, work environment, and client intake system to create a positive work environment and serve more clients.

Purposeful and Inclusive Hiring

Firms can make a strategic commitment to interviewing and hiring members of the LGBTQ+ community by developing a comprehensive inclusion plan for prospective hires. Organizations such as PLEXUS (the Cleveland LGBT & Allied Chamber of Commerce) and the LGBT Community Center provide workshops and training that assist in developing a firm's strategic outlook. The inclusion plan doesn’t have to be complicated, but being able to articulate a commitment to attracting talent from all backgrounds will show respect for new hires and a firm-wide commitment to inclusion. Some purposeful practices firms can implement in the hiring process include: networking and recruitment through LGBTQ+ law student organizations, posting job opportunities on LGBTQ+ friendly job boards, conducting outreach through the firm’s LGBTQ+ network, and discussing the firm’s commitment to serving marginalized community groups during the hiring process.

Creating an Inclusive Work Environment

While small firms may operate more informally than larger firms, they still need to proactively create safe, comfortable, informed spaces where employees can thrive. The LGBTQ+ community is sometimes referred to as “invisible minorities” because the decision to disclose identity or keep it private is left up to the individual. LGBTQ+ employees face difficulties that may be unnoticed or not instantly apparent.

A welcoming firm culture should be a safe space for identity disclosure, while leaving the ultimate decision to disclose personal details of their identity to each staff member. Using gender-neutral language like “partner” and “spouse” instead of husband/wife/boyfriend/girlfriend, and referring to people whose pronouns you do not know as “they/them,” or by their name, can open the door for employees to share personal details they may otherwise feel the need to hide. Where appropriate, a firm should ensure that invitations to firm functions extend to the employees’ partners and families, whether or not they are married or heterosexual.

The challenge of implementing a firm dress code that accommodates a variety of hairstyles, clothes, and body adornments while promoting a professional image can pay off in employee satisfaction. The exact balance of such a policy may be tricky to find, but engaging in the conversation and keeping it productive is key to success. For firms with more resources, staff training and written anti-discrimination policies provide clarity and direction to staff in creating a work environment where all workers feel safe, included and informed.

Small firms can leverage resources already available in the wider LGBTQ+ legal and professional network. Introducing employees into, and including them, in a broader LGBTQ+ network makes the firm’s inclusion goals tangible. It gives LGBTQ+ employees access to a space where they can exist as themselves and comfortably interact with other LGBTQ+ professionals. The network provides context to allied employees as to why the firm’s values of inclusion are important. The CMBA LGBTQ+ Committee, PLEXUS, Equality Ohio, and the LGBT Community Center of Greater Cleveland are all good places to start accessing this network.

Inclusive Client Intake and Representation Practices

The firm’s hiring process and work environment form the foundation of an inclusive client intake process. During intake, instead of assuming a potential client’s gender, firm staff can use gender-neutral language as necessary until a client confirms how they prefer to be addressed. Intake questionnaires can also be written in gender-neutral language. Gendered language is common in many pre-formatted intake questionnaires, but may not be accurate for every client. Inclusive language like “spouse” and “partner” can make potential clients feel more comfortable when deciding to retain a firm. Firms can also consider adding spaces for potential clients to fill in their preferred pronouns on written intake questionnaires.

When it comes to legal advice, non-traditional relationships and families may not benefit from the same legal protections that heteronormative relationships do. While less common than in the past, LGBTQ+ individuals may not be accepted or supported by their next of kin, or may not be out to their family. For our firm’s real estate and estate planning work, it is important to ascertain the specific nature of the client’s familial relationships. For example, a simple deed transfer may look very different if the grantees are a married couple, versus a polyamorous family. In another example, ensuring an estate plan empowers supportive individuals to carry out a client’s wishes may not be as simple as checking a box. Clients count on lawyers to secure the future they want with their family and friends, and making the effort to understand a client’s unique family situation is crucial in providing effective service.

Pro bono work through legal clinics that provide services to marginalized or economically disadvantaged members of the LGBTQ+ community can also demonstrate a firm’s commitment to inclusion. Equitas Ohio, Trans Ohio, and Equality Ohio regularly partner to hold name change clinics, and Legal Aid holds periodic brief advice clinics at the LGBT Community Center.

As part of our firm's advocacy profile, we conduct research on how Ohio's laws impact the LGBTQ+ community through the lens of real estate law, estate planning, and probate law. We inform our research with current books in the areas of history, sociology, urban planning, and more. We have published articles in the CMBA Bar Journal on the history of land use and LGBTQ+ people in Ohio, and the impact of landlord tenant law on LGBTQ+ tenants. These articles have led to opportunities for staff to conduct continuing legal education classes. This work connects the firm to its value of inclusion, and builds credibility with LGBT colleagues and clients.

Walking the Walk

While staff and clients will both value an inclusive firm, saying your firm is inclusive does not automatically create inclusivity. Having a strategic plan that leads to concrete outcomes of the firm’s commitment is important to building credibility. Clients can infer how employers treat their employees because of how the staff treats them. By setting a foundation for firm culture in hiring practices and work environment that carries through to client advocacy, a firm will create a positive space for staff and clients, no matter their background or orientation.

An inclusive work environment can reduce work stress, improve staff well-being and morale, and broaden the firm’s client base. Normalizing LGBTQ+ relationships in the workspace can create a place people want to work and a firm clients want to hire. When a firm uses its power to improve the well-being of its employees and clients, without reinforcing negative systems that that hurt and disempower them, the cumulative impact will drive the firm to a higher level of success.

Citations and Suggested Reading

•Christine Silva and Anika K. Warren, Building LGBT-Inclusive Workplaces: Engaging Organizations and Individuals in Change, CATALYST, (2009) - pg 17.
•“2023 Report on Diversity in U.S. Law Firms.” National Association for Law Placement. (2023). https://www.nalp.org/uploads/Research/2023NALPReportonDiversityFinal.pdf
•Wright, J. Kim. (2016). Lawyers as Changemakers: The Global Integrative Law Movement, American Bar Association.
•Shelton, Michael. (2013). Family Pride: What LGBT Families Should Know about Navigating Home, School, and Safety in Their Neighborhoods, Boston, Mass.: Beacon Press.