A Transition in the Legal Profession
An interview with M. Dru Levasseur
For many years, Dru Levasseur fought for LGBTQ+ rights in courts across the nation. Now, he works to improve the experience of LGBTQ+ attorneys in the legal profession. In this conversation, Dru shares from his experiences as a transgender attorney and insights learned in his current role as the Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for the National LGBTQ+ Bar Association. He examines the representation of LGBTQ+ attorneys in the profession and the discrimination and bias they can face in the workplace. Dru also touches on the fears and insecurities that many lawyers may have when it comes to working with trans colleagues or clients, including concerns about pronouns and sensitive questions about transitioning. The conversation provides resources for lawyers and legal employers to develop a more open and welcoming environment to practice law for trans attorneys, improve understanding among colleagues and to empower LGBTQ+ allies, and to integrate smart policies to improve firm diversity and inclusion.
Watch Part 2 of A Transition in the Legal Profession.
Additional Resources
Discrimination and Legal Issues Faced by the Transgender Community
-
National Center for Transgender Equality's 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey
-
Podcast Why is This Happening? With Chris Hayes episode Treating Trans Youth with Dr. Izzy Lowell
- Lamda Legal short film Flying Solo: A Transgender Widow Fights Discrimination
LGBTQ+ Diversity in the Legal Profession
-
National Association for Law Placement 2020 Report on Diversity in U.S. Law Firms
-
National Association of Women Lawyers 2020 Report on the Promotion & Retention of Women in Law Firms
-
LGBTQ+ Bar Association's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Index
- LGBTQ+ Bar's Law School Campus Climate Survey
Resources
About M. Dru Levasseur
“Part of our responsibility as lawyers is to be open and not just tolerant but accepting of our peers and our future clients.”
Dru Levasseur is the Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for the National LGBTQ+ Bar Association. He leads the LGBTQ+ Bar’s DEI Consulting Practice, Lavender Law 365®, the only LGBTQ+ inclusion coaching and consulting program designed specifically to enable the implementation of best practice standards for LGBTQ+ equity across law firms, law schools, and companies. Previously, Dru was Senior Attorney and Transgender Rights Project Director for Lambda Legal, the nation’s oldest and largest legal organization committed to achieving full recognition of the civil rights of LGBTQ+ people and people living with HIV. There, he served as counsel in landmark impact litigation cases and amicus briefs in federal courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court. Dru was instrumental in the creation and development of Lambda Legal’s Transgender Rights Project in 2013, as well as the Transgender Toolkit. Prior to joining Lambda Legal, Dru was the first staff attorney at Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund, and before that, served as a law clerk in the Massachusetts Superior Court. In 2007, Dru co-founded the Jim Collins Foundation, a trans-led national nonprofit that funds surgeries for transgender people in need, funding twenty surgeries in ten years. He continues to serve as a working group member for Grantmakers United for Trans Communities. Dru also serves on the boards of the ERA Coalition and Fund for Women’s Equality. Dru is a 2021-2022 Wasserstein Public Interest Fellow at Harvard Law School.
