Kirkland & Ellis LLP Receives Perfect Score on Corporate Equality Index for Second Consecutive Year
Kirkland & Ellis LLP received a perfect score on the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Corporate Equality Index and Best Places to Work survey for the second year in a row, the HRC announced today. The Corporate Equality Index (CEI) is a tool used by the HRC, America's largest civil rights organization focused on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality, to rate companies based on how well they treat their GLBT employees, consumers and clients.
Nearly 600 companies completed the 2009 CEI survey (43 percent were Fortune500 companies). HRC awarded its top score of 100 percent to 259 companies considered to be among the most inclusive and fair-minded in their industries. In 2006, when HRC invited law firms to participate in the CEI for the first time, only 13 firms achieved a score of 100 percent. In the 2009 CEI, 64 law firms received a perfect score.
"We are pleased to see an impressive surge in the number of law firms committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive work environment for GLBT attorneys and other employees," said Andrew Nagel, Kirkland partner and chair of the Firmwide Diversity Committee's GLBT Subcommittee. "Kirkland is proud to be a leader in our profession in this respect and to remain at the forefront, both in policy and practice, of firms dedicated to developing and advancing GLBT workplace equality."
The CEI rates companies on several factors, including health care and family leave benefits for employees with same-sex partners, diversity training, GLBT employee groups and policies that prohibit discrimination based on gender identity or expression.
A full copy of the 2009 Corporate Equality Index report is available at www.hrc.org/cei.
About Kirkland & Ellis LLP
Kirkland & Ellis LLP is a 1,400-attorney law firm representing global clients in complex corporate, intellectual property and technology, litigation, restructuring and tax matters. The Firm has offices in Chicago, Hong Kong, Los Angeles, London, Munich, New York, Palo Alto, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C.
About Human Rights Campaign
The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) is America's largest civil rights organization working to achieve lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender equality. By inspiring and engaging all Americans, HRC strives to end discrimination against GLBT citizens and realize a nation that achieves fundamental fairness and equality for all.