Back in December, 2009, I did made inquiry to four of Virginia's top law schools in respect to how they square their recruitment non-discrimination policies which include sexual orientation allegedly imposed against law firms and corporations with the fact that most law firms in Virginia have no policies that protect attorneys and staff from being fired based upon their sexual orientation. My post concerning my inquiry can be found here. The law schools I consulted were the University of Virginia School of Law, the University of Richmond School of Law, the Washington and Lee School of Law, and the Marshall Wythe Scool of Law at William & Mary.
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Two and a half months latter, only one law school dean felt my inquiry merited a response. The responding law school? Not my Alma Mater, the University of Virginia School of Law that touts its policy in words but apparently not in action. No, the sole response came from the dean of the law school at William & Mary, a copy of which is set out above (click the image to enlarge it). As you can see, the William & Mary response is less than comforting for past graduates of the law school since only current students will apparently receive protection.
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The lesson to gays in the legal community? You are basically on your own and cannot expect any employment protections. The state laws afford gay attorneys no protections from being fired and the leading law schools turn a blind eye to homophobic law firms as long as the law firms - with a wink and a nod to the placement offices - pretend that they do not discriminate against LGBT individuals. The fact that most firms lack any non-discrimination policies that exclude discrimination based on sexual orientation means nothing. Indeed, law firms with histories of firing gay attorneys lare likewise apparently fully welcome at these law schools.
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It is a pathetic state of affairs, but it's telling as to what it is like to be LGBT in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
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