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Porter Wright was founded in 1846 with the goal of providing legal services to people in need throughout central Ohio. 175 years later, Porter Wright continues to uphold their firm’s values of helping clients seize opportunities and serving their community through progressive and inclusive initiatives.
On June 2, Porter Wright announced the creation of their LGBTQ+ Business practice group which will work with business owners to help their businesses succeed and thrive. This new practice group will address the micro and macro influences impacting the daily operations of business to help support LGBTQ+ industry leaders.
“LGBTQ+ business owners often face unique challenges when doing business,” said Ted Walters, co-chair of the group. “The attorneys in our group are members and allies of the LGBTQ+ community and bring the experience, understanding, and authenticity needed to partner with our clients to help them achieve their goals.”
Services of the practice group will include entity formation; LGBT-Business Enterprise (LGBTBE®) certification counseling; employment litigation and counseling; social media and website policy compliance review and drafting; alternative dispute resolution; and more.
“We recognized the need for this type of cross-disciplinary group to support LGBTQ+ businesses in all of our markets in Ohio, Florida, Chicago, Pittsburgh, and Washington, D.C.,” said co-chair Ron Hicks. “Regardless of location, industry, stage of business, or corporate structure, we will work with LGBTQ+ business owners to enable a path that avoids challenges, minimizes risk, and leverages opportunity.”
The firm also offers employees three resource groups centered around shared life experiences: the Diverse Attorney Network, the Equality Alliance and the Women’s Leadership Initiative. Luke Fedlam, chairperson of Porter Wright’s Diverse Attorney Network, says that Porter Wright understands that diversity, equity and inclusion efforts aren’t simply a marketing strategy, but an essential obligation of the company and its leaders.
Porter Wright Morris & Arthurs LLP has been ranked by U.S. News – Best Lawyers® “Best Law Firms” in 10 practice areas nationally and in 66 practice areas regionally in 2021. Porter Wright Morris & Arthurs LLP has 75 listed lawyers in the 2021 edition of The Best Lawyers in America© and 21 Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch honorees.
