Boston, MA. Global 100 law firm Nixon Peabody is once again proud to announce a perfect score on the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index, marking 15 consecutive years with a 100% rating. In earning a perfect score, Nixon Peabody was also ranked as one of the “Best Places to Work for LGBTQ Equality.”
The HRC is a leading LGBTQ civil rights and advocacy group and its Corporate Equality Index (CEI) is a benchmark of pro-LGBTQ workplace policies measured annually. Nixon Peabody was one of the first U.S. law firms to extend welfare and health care coverage to domestic partners, and the firm continues to champion pro-LGBTQ policies, such as transgender-inclusive health care benefits and non-discrimination workplace protections.
“2020 was marked by profound change and challenges around the world stemming from COVID-19, but we remained committed to building on our firm’s core values of diversity, equity, and inclusion,” said Andrew Glincher, CEO and managing partner of Nixon Peabody. “This is reflected in the impactful work we do in advocating for civil rights and giving a voice to those in need.”
In December 2020, Nixon Peabody filed an amicus brief on behalf of three former Idaho attorneys general—two Republicans and one Democrat—with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in the lawsuit Hecox v. Little. The brief urges the Ninth Circuit to uphold the Idaho federal district court’s injunction barring enforcement of House Bill 500—a bill that would bar women and girls who are transgender from participating in school sports and subject all women and girl athletes in Idaho to the threat of invasive testing.
The brief—which explains the unconstitutionality of House Bill 500—is joined by many friend-of-the-court briefs, including the National Women’s Law Center, the Idaho Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence, over 60 other women’s rights and civil rights groups, national medical and mental health associations, and businesses such as Nike, Amalgamated Bank, and Altria Group, among others.
In the year since the previous CEI results were released, Nixon Peabody has continued to spearhead its commitment to diversity and inclusion. Diversity Lab, an incubator in the legal industry focused on diversity and inclusion, named Nixon Peabody as one of four law firms to pioneer the Move the Needle Fund (MTN). Through MTN, the firm has committed to increasing the representation of LGBTQ and diverse attorneys within its equity partnership. The firm’s goal is to surpass national averages among AmLaw200 law firms by 2025.
Nixon Peabody also achieved Mansfield Certification Plus for the third consecutive year in 2020. This designation by Diversity Lab indicates that at least 30% of attorneys considered for the firm’s leadership positions, proposals, and formal pitches come from LGBTQ and diverse attorneys—and also that the firm has achieved the 30% goal across the majority of categories.
Click here for the Human Rights Campaign’s full report and 2021 Corporate Equality Index.