Lowenstein Sandler has earned a 100 percent score on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s (HRCF) 2019 Corporate Equality Index (CEI). The score places the firm among HRCF’s designated Best Places to Work for LGBTQ Equality. This is the third consecutive year in which Lowenstein has earned a perfect CEI score.

The annually published CEI, now in its 17th edition, is a national benchmarking tool on corporate policies and practices pertinent to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer employees. The 2019 CEI evaluates LGBTQ-related policies and practices including non-discrimination workplace protections, domestic partner benefits, transgender-inclusive health care benefits, competency programs, and public engagement with the LGBTQ community. This year, 609 prominent businesses, representing a broad cross-section of industries and locations, secured a 100 percent and inclusion on the foundation’s list of Best Places to Work for LGBTQ Equality.

Of 164 law firms participating, Lowenstein was one of 114 to receive a perfect score in recognition of its commitment to improving the experience of LGBTQ employees in the workplace. The firm offers employees a wide variety of resources and benefits including:

  • LGBTQ Alliance: Hosts monthly meetings and quarterly, no-agenda lunches that foster understanding; provides firm-wide training on LGBTQ issues; participates annually in the Lavender Law conference and career fair; and celebrates Pride Month through education, social, and community service events.
  • Expansive parental leave for opposite-sex and same-sex couples
  • Domestic partner benefits
  • Purposeful sponsorship and coaching

Lowenstein’s best practices and collective efforts to support diversity and inclusion have been recognized through numerous other accolades, including:

  • Working Mother’s list of 60 Best Law Firms for Women (the sixth time the firm has made the list)
  • The Freddie Mac inaugural Award of Excellence for Enhancing Law Firm Diversity & Inclusion
  • A Crain’s Best Place to Work in New York City
  • An NJBIZ Best Place to Work in New Jersey (included on the list for eight consecutive years)

“We are extremely grateful to be acknowledged for our ongoing commitment to ensure an inclusive environment for firm employees who belong to the LGBTQ community,” said Gary M. Wingens, Lowenstein’s Chair and Managing Partner. “Our firm places a high emphasis on workplace equality, allowing us to foster a community in which we trust one another just as our clients place their trust in us.”

To qualify as a Best Place to Work for LGBTQ Equality, employers must meet key rating criteria:

  • Nondiscrimination policies across business entities
  • Equitable benefits for LGBTQ workers and their families
  • Internal education and accountability metrics to promote LGBTQ inclusion competency
  • Public commitment to LGBTQ equality.

“Receiving this recognition for the third year in a row is testament to our steadfast attention to maintaining a robust network of attorneys and staff from a variety of backgrounds,” said A. Faith English, Lowenstein’s Manager of Diversity & Inclusion. “Our forward-thinking employment policies and cultural practices work together to create a professional environment that is diverse, inclusive, respectful, and appreciative of different points of view.”

The HRC Foundation’s CEI was founded in 2002 and accepts submissions from midsize to large businesses from a wide variety of industries, including legal, banking and financial services, retail, food and beverage, manufacturing, energy, and apparel, among others.

The Human Rights Campaign Foundation is the educational arm of America's largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual transgender and queer people. HRC envisions a world where LGBTQ people are embraced as full members of society at home, at work and in every community.

Click here to read this year’s full report.