Carlton Fields Earns Perfect Score in Corporate Equality Index for 12th Consecutive Year

Carlton Fields earned a perfect score of 100% on the 2021 Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation’s Corporate Equality Index (CEI), designating the firm as a “Best Place to Work for LGBTQ Equality” for the 12th year in a row. The rating recognizes the firm’s LGBTQ-friendly policies and practices and its devotion to workplace equality. 

“Carlton Fields has a demonstrated history of commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion,” said Chief Diversity Officer Nancy Faggianelli. “Our firm founders recognized that a climate of diversity promotes more thoughtful communication, more purposeful collaboration, more varied perspectives, and more creative solutions. As we celebrate our 120-year anniversary, we continue to uphold appreciation of DE&I as one of our core values and an integral part of the firm’s strategic plan. We are honored to receive this recognition once again.”

The 2021 CEI evaluates LGBTQ-related policies and practices, including non-discrimination policies; employment benefits; support for an inclusive culture and corporate responsibility, including public commitment to LGBTQ equality; and responsible citizenship. Carlton Fields is one of only 135 law firms that earned a perfect score.

“From the previously unimaginable impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, to a long overdue reckoning with racial injustice, 2020 was an unprecedented year. Yet, many businesses across the nation stepped up and continued to prioritize and champion LGBTQ equality,” said Alphonso David, Human Rights Campaign President. “This year has shown us that tools like the CEI are crucial in the work to increase equity and inclusion in the workplace, but also that companies must breathe life into these policies and practices in real and tangible ways. Thank you to the companies that understand protecting their LGBTQ employees and consumers from discrimination is not just the right thing to do —but the best business decision.”

Carlton Fields has long been a leader for LGBTQ protections. The firm’s efforts to promote LGBTQ equality in the workplace are evidenced by its offering of domestic partner benefits to attorneys and staff since 1999; establishing the firm’s LGBT business resource group, currently led by Shareholder Gail Podolsky; and representing LGBTQ individuals and families pro bono in significant same-sex marriage and adoption cases for all LGBTQ Floridians.

The firm has received numerous additional recognitions for its commitment to diversity and inclusion, including:

• One of the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity’s 2020 Top Performers
• 4^th in Law360’s 2020 Diversity Snapshot for “The Best Law Firms for Minority Equity Partners” and in the top 30 for “The Best Law Firms for Minority Attorneys.”
• One of the top law firms in the nation for female attorneys, according to Law360’s 2020 Glass Ceiling Report
• One of only six law firms ranked in the top 10 of all five of the Vault Guide to the Top 100 Law Firms’ diversity rankings, which includes “Overall Diversity,” “Diversity for Women,” “Diversity for Racial Minorities,” “Diversity for LGBTQ Individuals,” and “Diversity for Individuals with Disabilities”
• Top 30 in the country for Diversity in American Lawyer’s 2020 Diversity Scorecard