The LGBTQ Initiative connects the firm’s LGBTQ attorneys and allies with one another and with LGBTQ causes in the broader community by hosting social gatherings, sponsoring community events and pursuing LGBTQ-focused pro bono work. The LGBTQ Initiative is open to all partners, of counsel and associates and works closely with the firm’s other analogous initiatives, as well as with external organizations with similar missions, to identify and adopt best practices that will advance these goals. Here are just a few of the ways the LGBTQ Initiative supports and encourages LGBTQ attorneys, both inside and outside the firm:

Pro Bono Leadership

Munger Tolles & Olson has a long tradition of pro bono work across varied practice areas and viewpoints. Among these is pro bono work in support of LGBTQ rights, which has allowed many attorneys in the LGBTQ Initiative to give back to their communities in concrete and meaningful ways. Examples of LGBTQ-focused pro bono work include:

• Filing an amicus brief in support of marriage equality in Obergefell v. Hodges on behalf of Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom along with 30 other bar organizations nationwide;
• Successfully defending California legislation prohibiting state-licensed therapists from engaging in sexual orientation change efforts – sometimes called “reparative” or “conversion” therapy – on minors;
• Filing amicus briefs in various cases throughout the country challenging school rules prohibiting transgender students from using bathrooms that match their gender identities;
• With co-counsel at Lambda Legal, representing a transgender veteran in obtaining a permanent injunction barring a local barbershop that had denied service from engaging in further discrimination based on sex;
• Working with Human Rights First, achieving victory in immigration court for a 24-year-old Honduran transgender woman seeking refuge in the United States; and
• Working with Immigration Equality, securing a grant of asylum for a Russian national following persecution in her home country as an individual who identifies as genderqueer.

Building An Inclusive Community At MTO

Social Events:  The LGBTQ Initiative hosts informal networking and community-building gatherings throughout the year, including dinners and an annual event for attorneys and summer associates.

Domestic Partner Health Benefits:  MTO provides health benefits not only to spouses, but also to domestic partners. Thanks in part to the advocacy of our LGBTQ attorneys, we were one of the first firms to “gross-up” health insurance benefits for same-sex domestic partners to correct for inequalities in the tax code.

Community Involvement

In 2017, the LGBTQ Initiative began sponsoring the Outfest LA Film Festival, which supports films and filmmakers in the LGBTQ community.

The LGBTQ Initiative has also been a proud supporter of the Lambda Legal West Coast Liberty Awards, the Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom Annual Gala, the USC OUTLaw Endowment Reception, the Williams Institute and the AIDS Legal Referral Panel’s Annual Reception.

To learn more about the LGBTQ Initiative, please contact co-chairs Jennifer L. Bryant and David W. Moreshead.