Human Rights Campaign (HRC) has awarded Kutak Rock LLP a perfect score on its 2018 Corporate Equality Index (CEI), the national benchmark on corporate policies and practices impacting LGBT employees. Earning a score of 100 distinguishes Kutak Rock as one of the “Best Places to Work for LGBT Equality,” and one of a select few law firms in the U.S. to earn that distinction.
“We are very proud of our perfect score on the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index,” said Drew Marlar, Co-Chair of the Firm’s National Inclusiveness and Diversity Committee. “Since joining the firm in 1999, the firm has always made me feel welcome as a gay man and treated my family equally. The firm’s leadership cares deeply about creating a truly inclusive and diverse environment. This is not just important for our internal culture but is an essential part of offering the best service to our clients.”
Since Kutak Rock opened its doors in 1965, the firm’s culture has embraced diversity and equality in the legal profession, making strategic efforts to hire women and minority attorneys long before laws required it. This early commitment to equality and professionalism is best embodied by founder Robert J. Kutak’s chairmanship of the American Bar Association’s Special Commission on Evaluation of Professional Standards, known as the Kutak Commission, which proposed dramatic revisions to ethical rules relating to lawyers and the legal profession.
Over the ensuing five decades, Kutak Rock has reinforced its commitment to LGBT rights through its inclusive Equal Employment Opportunity policy, the extension of equal benefits to all employees—including transgender employees and LGBT employees in domestic partnerships—and the work of the firm’s LGBTQIA and Allies Affinity Group to provide networking, engagement and educational opportunities. Today, openly LGBT partners make up 4.0 percent of Kutak Rock’s partnership, more than double the National Association of Law Placement (NALP) average of 1.8 percent.
"Earning another perfect score on the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index is a significant accomplishment for the firm and reflects the value we place on inclusiveness and diversity," said P. Brian Bartels, Co-Chair of the firm's LGBTQIA and Allies Affinity Group. "The firm fosters a culture where LGBTQIA staff and attorneys thrive personally and professionally, contributing to exceptional service for our clients. The perfect score is a testament to the firm’s leadership and deep commitment to supporting and promoting members of the LGBTQIA community."
View the full 2018 CEI Report here.
To view our most recent Inclusiveness and Diversity Annual Report, please click here.