Jenner & Block Latest Firm to Roll Out Preferred Pronoun Policy

Jenner & Block has joined a small but growing number of top law firms giving employees the option of using their preferred pronouns in email signatures and other law firm communications.

The move places Jenner at the vanguard of Big Law firms that are open to their lawyers, and other staffers, expressing their gender-identity on their firm websites as “she/her,” “he/him,” or “they/them.”

Leaders from the firm say the move is vitally important looking forward, because it reflects growing inclusivity in broader society. They added that it can help make sure that transgender staffers, applicants and clients feel welcome at the firm.

“These are the types of programs you initiate because it’s the right thing to do,” said Courtney Carter, Jenner’s associate director of diversity and inclusion. “It is, in some regards, the next natural step.”

The action places the firm among the first group of Big Law firms to put forth such a policy, at least publicly. The move was implemented “as a recognition of the diversity within our society,” according to the firm’s latest annual diversity and inclusion report.

The firm, which started the policy in May, wrote in the report that, in addition to email signatures, employees may also gender-identify while using the firm’s intranet, on their Jenner biography web pages, and on their business cards.

A quick analysis of the bio pages of the first 40 Jenner partners listed alphabetically on the firm’s website found that five included their preferred pronouns. A higher number of associates chose to do so—eight of the first 40 listed alphabetically.

Diversity and Inclusion

According to Carter and the firm’s chief talent officer, Charlotte Wager, the new policy aligns well with the core values of diversity and inclusiveness at the firm, which boasts an international reach and around 500 lawyers.

It doesn’t hurt that these kinds of values also make good business sense, they said, given that firms are often in competition for talent.

“We know that the people we’re recruiting want an inclusive environment. We know that’s important to them,” said Wager.

The use of preferred pronouns can be helpful in other ways, Carter and Wager said. That can pertain to people with gender-neutral first names, for example, allowing others who might be communicating with them by email to know their gender.

Wager said she believes more law firms are likely to catch on and recognize the importance of offering preferred pronoun options in the near future.

By definition, diversity and inclusiveness aren’t stagnant concepts, she said: “They look different every day as our nation and world changes.”

Breaking Ground

Jenner has long been recognized as a law firm leader in the promotion of LGBTQ workplace diversity. The Human Rights Campaign, for example, has given the firm a perfect rating of 100 in its annual Corporate Equality Index survey for 13 years running.

Davis Polk & Wardwell has been promoting the use of different pronoun options, including She/Her, He/Him, and They/Them on name tags at recruiting events for more than a year, a Davis Polk spokeswoman confirmed. The firm also has been offering LGBTQ ribbons at such events.

Cozen O’Connor, like Jenner, also has been encouraging its lawyers to use preferred pronouns in their email signatures.

“In late June, our chief human relations officer sent a firm-wide email encouraging all employees to add their preferred pronouns to their email signature block,” Cozen O’Connor Chief Diversity Officer Lynnette Espy-Williams said in a statement. “The response to her email was overwhelmingly positive and our attorneys have heard from others outside the firm praising the choice to include pronouns.”

In a related move, Baker McKenzie on June 24 announced “aspirational” gender diversity targets of 40% / 40% / 20% with a target date of July 1, 2025. This means that by then, the firm hopes to include 40% women, 40% men, and 20% “flexible (women, men or non-binary persons).” The goal applies to firm partners, senior business professionals, firm committee leadership, and candidate pools for recruitment.