October 9, 2009 — Leading the way in promoting fairness to LGBT Americans, with the goals of striving to end discrimination and realize a nation of fundamental fairness and equality for all, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) recognizes businesses with the same aspirations. The HRC recently released results of its 2010 Corporate Equality Index (CEI) awarding Vinson & Elkins a perfect score of 100 for the second year in a row. The study rates business on a scale from 0 to 100 percent based on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) workplace policies and benefits.

More than 1,500 U.S. businesses were included in the national study including 127 law firms. The 2010 CEI scores are based on several factors, including whether businesses:

• Have a written non-discrimination policy and training covering sexual orientation and gender identity; 
• Support same-sex partners of employees with health insurance, bereavement and family leave policies; 
• Encourage LGBT employee groups; and
• Contribute to and participate in community organizations that support the goal of equal rights for LGBT individuals.

“I am impressed with the level of support V&E provides its attorneys through professional enrichment programs and policies. V&E’s equal benefits policies are of personal importance to me; without them, my partner would not be able to stay home full-time with our son,” said V&E lawyer Michelle Boudreaux.

Vinson & Elkins has a tradition of supporting the inclusion of lawyers from all backgrounds. In 1997, we led the way to creating a more open work environment, becoming the first Texas-based law firm to offer same-sex partner benefits. Since then V&E has actively championed our LGBT attorneys by providing equal benefits, an LGBT attorney affinity group, LGBT-specific programs, and national organizational sponsorships.

As V&E lawyer David Hawkins attests, “V&E’s established ‘First Principles’ make the firm’s longstanding position on all types of diversity abundantly clear: attract, hire, and advance based on merit in an environment of civility, compassion, and mutual respect.”

The Human Rights Campaign is the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights organization representing a grassroots force of more than 750,000 members and supporters. “The 2010 Corporate Equality Index shows that, even in the most challenging economy, leading employers are forging ahead of federal and state law to recruit and retain a diverse workforce — regardless of employees’ sexual orientation and gender identity or expression,” said Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese.

V&E is dedicated to providing a workplace that embraces and promotes the inclusion of lawyers from all backgrounds. In addition to the CEI perfect score, our sustained commitment to diversity has been recognized in 2008 and 2009 in Working Mother magazine as one of the “Best Law Firms for Women,” and V&E was twice the recipient of the Thomas L. Sager Award for the South/Southwest region given by the Minority Corporate Counsel Association for the hiring, promotion, and retention of minority attorneys.

For more information on the Corporate Equality Index, visit the Human Rights Campaign’s website atwww.hrc.org.