Sexual Orientation Task Force Report

Findings
Hiring, Career Advancement, Compensation/Benefits
Lesbian and gay lawyers are under-represented as partners in law firms, which has negative consequences in terms of compensation as well as professional advancement

The responses to the Lawyer Survey indicate that lesbian and gay lawyers are under-represented as partners in law firms. Overall, heterosexual lawyers in the Survey were substantially more likely to be partners in law firms than were lawyers in either of the lesbian and gay groups surveyed. (Lawyer Survey, Table 4.) Because some of this difference may be attributable to the length of time in practice and some is also attributable to the fact that a smaller portion of the random sample group of lesbian and gay respondents practice in firms than do the heterosexual respondents (though this was less so for respondents in the purposive sample), the Task Force and its consultant took a closer look at the partnership data, examining those figures only for the respondents working in firms, and controlling for length of time in practice. Even this finer reading of the data, however, shows that among those respondents practicing in law firms who have 1-10 years of experience as well as among those with 11 or more years, heterosexual lawyers in the Survey are more likely than lawyers in either of the lesbian and gay respondent groups to be partners. (Lawyer Survey, Table 6.)
The reported under-representation of lesbian and gay lawyers in the partnership ranks of law firms has ramifications not just in terms of career paths, but also, of course, in terms of compensation. The data show that nearly one-quarter of the heterosexual respondents earn more than $150,000 per year, in stark contrast to the less than 10% of the random sample group of lesbian and gay lawyers and the 15.5% of the purposive sample who enjoy such earnings. (Lawyer Survey, Table 4.) Among the respondents in law firms (the place of employment where lawyers are most likely to earn this level of income), nearly two-fifths (38.4%) of the heterosexual respondents earn more than $150,000 annually, while only one fifth (19.6%) of the random sample group of lesbian and gay lawyers and a quarter (26.0%) of the purposive sample have earnings that high. (Lawyer Survey, Table 5.)