Diversity - The LGBT Community
As reflected by its score of 100% in the Human Rights Campaign's Corporate Equality Index Annual Survey, Orrick is dedicated to ensuring that its lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) attorneys thrive, and that the firm serves the LGBT Community. This page describes some of the details behind Orrick's support of the LGBT community, and some of Orrick's policies that may be of special interest to LGBT attorneys. For further information, please contact Lorraine McGowen, chair of the Firm's Diversity Committee, or Joe Evall, vice-chair in charge of LGBT issues, or any of the diversity chairs or recruiting coordinators in any office.
Non-Discrimination Policies
Orrick's employment policy has long prohibited discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. In 2003, Orrick added language expressly prohibiting discrimination on the basis of "gender identity and expression."
Benefits
Orrick provides health benefits and other benefits to its employees' domestic partners -- and has been doing so since the early 1990s. In 2004, Orrick expanded its Adoption Leave Policy to provide 12 weeks of paid leave for its attorneys and staff. Orrick's alternative work arrangements program has been used by many attorneys who are raising young children. The program is headed by Ira Rosenstein, a partner in the firm's New York office.
Affinity Groups
Orrick's office-specific LGBT affinity groups sponsor social events and develop programs of interest to the LGBT community. For example, each year Orrick invites outside speakers to present seminars to all attorneys at the firm on cutting-edge legal issues facing the LGBT community. Orrick's firm-wide LGBT affinity group, which advises firm leadership on ways to enhance the retention and professional development of LGBT attorneys, includes the active participation of the Firm's Executive Committee. Orrick's firm-wide LGBT affinity group meets regularly to ensure that LGBT attorneys thrive at Orrick.
The Community
Through a combination of pro bono legal services, financial contributions and volunteerism, Orrick actively supports the LGBT community. For example, Orrick organizes, sponsors and attends a number of events that support LGBT organizations, including the annual ACLU Lesbian & Gay Rights Project Summer Attorney Reception in New York and the ACLU's Front Line Summer Attorney Reception in San Francisco; Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom's (BALiF) Annual Dinner; the National Center for Lesbian Rights' Annual Gala; Lambda Legal's Annual Gala Reception & Exhibition Showing - Lambda at the de Young and its 2006 West Coast Liberty Awards event; and the NYC Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project's Annual Courage Awards, of which Orrick was a 2004 recipient. This year, Orrick was a platinum sponsor of the National Lesbian and Gay Law Association's annual Lavender Law Conference, and held a firm event in conjunction with the conference. Orrick attorneys have sat on the boards and committees of non-profit LGBT community organizations, including the NYC Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project, National Center for Lesbian Rights and Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area. Orrick also supports LGBT student groups at various law schools -- and provided substantial assistance to help law students obtain funding to attend Lavender Law.
Pro Bono
Orrick's pro bono work on behalf of the LGBT community has included litigation and other work for the National Lesbian Rights Center (impact litigation concerning discrimination by adoption services), the ACLU Lesbian & Gay Rights Project, and the NYC Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project (front-page litigation victories). Finally, recognizing the disparate impact that HIV/AIDS has had on portions of the LGBT community, Orrick notes here that an Orrick attorney has for many years coordinated the ABA's HIV/AIDS Law & Practice Annual Conference.
The Culture
Orrick's Core Value No. 2 places a premium on creating a workplace in which we all respect each other. The result is that Orrick is a great place for LGBT attorneys. Vault recognized this, naming us "Best in Diversity" programs and "Best in Diversity" for gays and lesbians. Orrick ranked among the top 25 firms for Openly Gay/Lesbian Attorneys in MultiCultural Law Magazine's 2006 Survey of Top 100 Law Firms. Orrick achieved a 100% rating in the Human Rights Campaign's Corporate Equality Index Annual Survey, which measures how equitably companies are treating their LGBT employees, consumers and investors.
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