b'peers in many other firms were not gettingdirectlyaffectedDonandmepersonally. those kinds of role models and were worriedWe were married by that time, and the only about the implications of coming out. benefits of marriage we did not receive were Q:How have things changed over thefederalbenefitsbecauseofDOMA.The Member immediately acknowledged that he years for LGBTQ lawyers, at Mintz and had not thought of it from that point of view, in general? and during our call he changed his position. Steve:TherehavenotbeenmanyissuesOnce he realized that people at the firm were sinceIvebeenatMintz.Incandor,thereaffected, he withdrew his opposition. This is was often not many issues to discuss whenabout our family, he said. My sense is that theLGBTattorneygroupgottogether;Ithis has been a firm that is open to diversity think everyone felt the firm was a safe and accepting, certainly as long as I have had inclusiveenvironment.Therewasonlyoneanyassociationwithit.Andclearlyeven period of unhappiness from the Mintz LGBTbefore that. Mintz has always been there for group. It was around 2013, if I recall. For theus as a gay couple.first time that I know of, Mintz did not get aQ:What next steps do you see as perfect score on the Human Rights Campaignimportant for Mintz? Corporate Equality Indexapparently, as I recall, because the firms health care policySteve: We need to maintain the culture we didnt specifically cover services for personshave.Wehavetomaintainsafety.Ifthere transitioninggender.Thatwaseasytoare concerns, people should continue to feel address: the firm changed the policy.safetobringthemup,knowingthatthey will be addressed. Reaffirming that culture is Also around that time, Mintz was asked to fileimportant. We are a diverse and open culture, an amicus brief in a case involving gay andand that is one of our greatest strengths. lesbian rights, U.S. v. Windsor [the Supreme Court case that found the Defense of MarriageSteve Weiner was interviewed by Melissa Brayman, Act unconstitutional]. At the time, I learnedchair of Mintz Pride and an IP Special Counsel. that there was resistance within the firm to joiningotheramiciinsupportofWindsor. Thiscausedalotofunhappinessinthe LGBT group. After talking with Bob Bodian, who was Managing Member by then, I dealt with the situation by picking up the phone and calling the Member who seemed most opposedtousjoiningtheamici,because, asheexplained,ofconcernsforclient sensitivity. I pointed out that the DOMA case THE 2020 MINTZ DIVERSITY, EQUITY & INCLUSION REPORT p. 14'