Ropes & Gray Achieves Perfect Score in Corporate Equality Index

For the fourth consecutive year, Ropes & Gray earned a perfect score of 100 percent in the 2012 Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation’s Corporate Equality Index (CEI), which rates American workplaces on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender issues.

The 2012 CEI ranked a total of 850 businesses, including 134 law firms, by evaluating their LGBT-related nondiscrimination and benefits policies, organizational competency on LGBT issues, and public engagement with the LGBT community. The 2012 ranking marks the first year of new more stringent criteria regarding transgender health benefits. This year, 190 businesses achieved the top rating of 100 percent. To achieve a perfect score, companies must have full-inclusive equal employment opportunity policies, provide equal employment benefits, demonstrate organizational LGBT competency, evidence their commitment to equality publicly and exercise responsible citizenship.

Since its inception in 2002, the HRC Corporate Equality Index has been both a roadmap and progress report for major U.S. businesses’ adoption of inclusive policies, practices and benefits for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees.

Ropes & Gray is committed to ensuring that its gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender lawyers are comfortable in the workplace. As part of this commitment, lawyers at the firm organized the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Lawyers Forum (the GLBT Forum) to provide an additional level of social and professional support to its gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender attorneys.

“At Ropes & Gray we are committed to creating an inclusive environment and we’re proud to be recognized for our efforts once again,” said Diane Patrick, Labor & Employment partner and head of the firm’s Diversity Committee.

Ropes & Gray has expanded its pro bono litigation and corporate work on behalf of LGBTQ causes this year, including:

• Drafting one amicus brief and signing another in a case challenging Section 3 of the Federal "Defense of Marriage" Act
• Representing numerous LGBTQ immigrants in their applications for asylum
• Representing a Massachusetts transgender prisoner in her bid for sex reassignment surgery and other treatment
• Representing Friendfactor Foundation and Friendfactor Accelerator, organizations for those who have close friends and family members who are gay who desire to take simple actions for historic and personally meaningful results--ending inequality and discrimination against their gay friends and family.