Kirkland & Ellis LLP Receives Perfect 100 Percent Score on the Human Rights Campaign 2008 Corporate Equality Index

Kirkland & Ellis LLP announced today that it has received a perfect 100 percent score on the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) 2008 Corporate Equality Index and Best Places to Work survey.  The Corporate Equality Index is a tool used by the HRC - the educational arm of the nation's largest advocacy group for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) Americans - to rate companies on how well they treat their GLBT employees, consumers and clients. 

The Corporate Equality Index rates companies on a scale of 0 to 100 percent on several factors, including whether they offer inclusive health care and family leave benefits to employees with same-sex partners, offer diversity training, have GLBT employee groups and decline to engage in any activities that would undermine the goal of equal rights for GLBT community.

Companies who are awarded a score of 100 are considered to be among the most inclusive and fair-minded in their industry.  Kirkland makes a strong commitment to fostering a diverse and inclusive work environment that welcomes and supports the development and advancement of its GLBT attorneys and other employees.

More than 500 companies from the Fortune 1000, Standard & Poor's 500, Forbes' list of the 200 largest privately held firms, The American Lawyer 100 and other companies with 500+ employees completed the Corporate Equality Index survey.  Of the group, 195 received a 100 percent score (28 of which were law firms).

"We are proud of the great strides our Firm has made, in both policy and practice, to ensure all GLBT attorneys have the essential mentoring, networking and business development opportunities they need to succeed at the Firm," said Kirkland New York partner Andrew Nagel, who is the chair of the Firmwide Diversity Committee's GLBT sub-committee.

Kirkland will be honored along with the other companies who received a 100 percent score this year at the Corporate Equality Index awards reception in New York on October 17.

About Kirkland & Ellis LLP

Kirkland & Ellis LLP is a 1,300-attorney law firm representing global clients in complex litigation, dispute resolution and arbitration, corporate, restructuring, tax and intellectual property and technology matters.  The Firm has offices in Chicago, Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, Munich, New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.