LGBTQ+ Rights: How to Be an Inclusive Advocate (Update)

This year - 2023 - has seen a dramatic wave of anti-LGBTQ legislation. The legal profession's commitment to gender diversity continues but the social context in this country has changed - dramatically so in some states.

These circumstances re-emphasize the critical need for professionals within the legal world to understand how to be inclusive advocates for their LGBTQ+ clients and colleagues, who need your support now more than ever.

This session, presented by Brandon Cox of Greenberg Traurig, Alice Kessler of Greenberg Traurig, Toni Lambert of the Los Angeles Public Defender's Office, and Rafael Langer-Osuna of Squire Patton Boggs will discuss the current LGBTQ+ experience in the legal world, after a year of record anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, from a first-hand perspective. The panel will discuss best practices for recruitment and retention, affirming firm and organizational culture, and training for legal professionals, among other topics. Participants will come away with a better understanding of common struggles for LGBTQ+ members of the legal profession as well as strategies to be supportive and understanding allies.

Learning Objectives:

1. Analyze the current social and legal environment for LGBTQ+ people

2. Break down common gender struggles that LGBTQ+ attorneys and legal professionals face

3. Discuss how laws and culture have changed these dynamics in the workplace - in the past three years relative to the changes in the past couple of decades

4. Identify best practices for recruiting and onboarding LGBTQ+attorneys and legal professionals 

5. Review DEI initiatives that uplift and support LGBTQ+professionals