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If straight students can decide whatever they want to do,
so can *** students.
You know, if you want to do mergers and acquisitions,
do mergers and acquisitions.
I chose to do LGBT law because that’s what I’m passionate about,
not necessarily because I’m ***.
Trans people, just like any other people, have interests.
I came to law school not because I want to do trans civil rights--
it’s important to me--
but because I want to be a lawyer.
I’m going to do direct service this summer.
I care about the issues that affect me
and that affect all my fellow law students.
But I am not only my trans identity.
I have to convince people I’m a regular human being.
You know, I am bisexual. That is how I identify.
That is an important part of my life.
But it’s not my career goal to be a bisexual.
I’ve chosen to go into LBGT law,
and that was the reason that I decided to go to law school,
but I know a lot of my friends who are gay in law school
are not choosing the same path.
As the profession has become more diverse,
we can sort of specialize in the things that
we’re interested in beyond our identity politics.
I’m an expert in reproductive rights.
I deal a lot with those issues that deal with straight women,
or straight men, as well as how they affect *** minorities.
I don’t know exactly what type of law I want to practice.
I’m leaning towards immigration,
and that has to do precisely with the intersection of my
*** identity and ethnic identity.
VOICE-OVER : A lot of my friends who are gay in law school are taking
a career choice that any straight person who's in law school would.
Their sexuality has nothing to do with their career path,
but it’s still been important for them to know that,
as a gay person, they can practice in any area of law
because the university has prepared them both socially and academically.
(Music)
"So are you open to both LA and San Francisco, or do you prefer one?"
"I would be open to both. I think I…"
VOICE-OVER : The National LGBT Bar Association Career Fair and Conference is
probably the best opportunity for LGBT law students in the United States.
They really provide an opportunity for employers to get to know
LGBT students and for LGBT students to know that
there are employers out there who are recruiting for diversity,
and actually support LGBT individuals.
VOICE-OVER : You really get a national perspective in terms of networking.
I mean, the biggest names in the legal field are here,
and I’ve been recruited to do some legal research.
I’ve been recruited to be a part of a diversity caucus.
VOICE-OVER : The fact that we have 150 legal employers here,
looking specifically to recruit this LGBT audience, I think, speaks volumes.
The world really has changed for LGBT students, particularly in the job search.
You know, years ago, when we would come here, student questions
surrounded: "Can I be out on my resumé?"
"Is it okay to be a gay person in the job market?"
And then it really switched to, "How out can I be?" and
"Can I come with all my piercings?" and "Can I have my family photos?"
And now it’s really, "How do I get a job?"
In my job application process,
I’m out if the person who is reading my resumé reads the bylines
where I describe the companies I worked for.
I externed at National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.
My undergrad work, I’ve interned at the Human Rights Campaign,
both national, gay, and lesbian organizations.
I don’t have pink resumé paper, and I don't scent it with perfume or anything.
But I think I’m pretty out.
VOICE-OVER : When I initially started doing my search for an employer,
I did not want to work at a firm
and then have to go back in the closet all over again,
because that’s just ten steps back from where I already started.
You are not really doing yourself any favor
to get into a job situation where
you are not going to be able to thrive and be comfortable.
VOICE-OVER : The advice that I’ve received so far is to be who you are.
Why work in a place that you’re not going to feel comfortable at?
Why be in a location where you’re not going to be yourself?
"So where do you see yourself, like, two, three years out?"
"Two, three years out, I’d like to be at a firm."
"Gain some really practical trial experience. So I'm really wondering..."
VOICE-OVER : Students here have done a great job of researching the law firms,
researching the attorneys that are going to be staffing those tables,
and they know we care about diversity-- we care about LGBT.
So then they can talk about what kind of career they want to have as opposed to
spending the uncomfortable fifteen, twenty minutes figuring out,
"Is it okay if I’m gay?" Yeah, we’re past that.
VOICE-OVER : Coming from a place where it was not cool
to be who you were if you were a gay person,
coming from a place where you were forced to hide it,
and being at an event-- a career event-- that encouraged you to be out,
and said it’s okay to be who you are,
and go for that job because we’re looking for people just like you--
that’s motivating.
VOICE-OVER : We’re finding that employers both in private practice,
large law firms, small law firms, federal government,
state and local government, public interest, that all employers
are embracing LGBT students.
The reality for transgender people in the job market is harder.
And I don’t think we’ve had the normalization
that we’ve had with the lesbian, gay, and bi communities.
It’s our next challenge.
I think there's a lot of work to be done still across the board.
VOICE-OVER : I was recruited to my firm at Lavender Law.
In fact, the recruiting partner at my firm is also openly gay.
So that, to me, was amazing.
This summer I’ll be working at Maldives, and I’ve been interning there this year.
And me being LGBT wasn’t a reason that they hired me.
But now that I’m there, I’m able to advocate for LGBT issues,
and find a common ground between Mexican American rights and
LGBT civil rights.
And so, I think it feels great,
to be able to advocate for both communities at the same time.
NALP began more than ten years ago,
asking law firms to report who their attorneys are,
by year, by race, by gender, by *** orientation.
And once you start counting things, those numbers become important.
Clients look to those numbers, students look to those numbers
when they’re assessing whether a law firm is LGBT-friendly.
I was very pleased, the firm that I chose to work at actually tracks that.
They ask you on your intake form.
It’s anonymous, but they want to know,
not just what the racial, or ethnic, or geographic composition of their firm is,
but they realize it’s a population that they want to cater to.
We should be looked at as attorneys.
And when we’re being judged, we should be judged
for the quality of our work and not for our *** orientation.
So I think that’s the way it should be,
and I’m glad to see that many large firms are heading that way
and are starting to hire more and more openly gay attorneys.