Trial Firm Earns Perfect Score on Corporate Equality Index for Fifth Consecutive Year
(prHWY.com) November 14, 2012 - San Francisco, CA -- Sedgwick LLP is pleased to announce that, for the fifth consecutive year, the firm has earned a perfect score on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation's (HRC) Corporate Equality Index (CEI). The 2013 edition of the CEI, which was released on November 14, 2012, officially rated 688 businesses on a scale from 0 to 100 percent on their treatment of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) employees, consumers and investors. Sedgwick is one of 252 businesses that earned a perfect score.
"At Sedgwick, we embrace a firm culture that supports diversity in all its forms," said Sedgwick Chair Michael Tanenbaum. "Receiving this honor from the HRC for the fifth consecutive year inspires us to not just maintain that culture, but to strengthen it year after year for the benefit of our lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees, our clients and the firm as a whole."
In the past 11 years, the CEI has become the gold standard for corporate policies and practices related to LGBT employees and their families. The CEI rates companies on 40 such policies and practices. For the second year, companies have been required to provide gender transition health benefits and domestic partner tax equalization benefits to achieve a 100 percent ranking. Sedgwick provides both to its employees.
"This award is a testament to the firm's continued commitment to LGBT rights," said James Holmes, Sedgwick partner and chair of the firm's LGBT Action Committee. "I'm proud to be a part of an organization that understands the value of a diverse work environment. The diverse backgrounds and experiences of our attorneys and staff enable us to bring creative solutions and fresh perspectives to resolving legal issues for our clients."
Sedgwick's LGBT Action Committee is one of the firm's five affinity groups that offer targeted mentoring, communication and advocacy on behalf of diverse attorneys. Members of Sedgwick's LGBT Action Committee serve as leaders, speakers and members of a wide range of LGBT organizations, including Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, the National LGBT Bar Association, the American Bar Association's Commission on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, and the Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom. Sedgwick's other affinity groups address the needs of African American, Asian American, Hispanic American and women attorneys.
The international trial firm of Sedgwick LLP provides trial, appellate, litigation management, counseling, risk management and transactional legal services to the world's leading companies. With more than 370 attorneys in offices in Austin, Chicago, Dallas, Fort Lauderdale, Houston, London, Los Angeles, New York, Newark, Orange County (California), Paris, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington, D.C., and an affiliated office in Bermuda, Sedgwick's collective experience spans the globe and virtually every industry. For more information about Sedgwick, its attorneys and services, visit
www.sedgwicklaw.com.
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