A Series Introduction from LGBTQ Affinity Group Co-Chair Dianne Phillips

Dianne Phillips: Hi, everyone. My name is Dianne Phillips, and I'm very proud to be the co-chair of the Holland & Knight LGBTQ Affinity Group. I want to spend a minute to talk about Holland & Knight's commitment to LGBTQ employees and its overall commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. I joined Holland & Knight in 1998, and at that time we created an LGBTQ work group that later grew into the affinity group we are now. At that time, we were about a handful of openly gay lawyers, and now we're over 50 self-identified LGBTQ colleagues. That has been a result of Holland Knight's strength and its support of all of its diverse colleagues, but particularly LGBTQ peoples. For example, Holland & Knight was one of the first law firms in the country to offer domestic partner benefits, some of which I benefited from in 1998 when I joined. Holland & Knight also was one of the first law firms to offer full transition health care for transgender employees and create transition protocols to support our employees who are transgender. In addition, we had COBRA benefits at a time when the Defense of Marriage Act precluded those coverage. So, all of these helpful policies have really supported the LGBTQ Affinity Group, and I am proud to have been part of that process. We also have joined civil rights organizations supporting LGBTQ people, including the Human Rights Campaign's Business Coalition, Equality Florida and Texas Competes. And you'll see I'm wearing my Equality Florida pin because that is an important aspect of what we are focused on.