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Editor's note: This column appears in The American Lawyer's April print issue. Since it was written, the coronavirus pandemic has prompted Big Law layoffs and pay cuts. Those kinds of measures in the past have disproportionately affected women and minorities, including LGBT lawyers and staff.  

Of all the groups that have faced discrimination in the legal profession, which one would you bet has gained the most traction? Well, I wouldn't put my money on women. Or lawyers of color. Here's the winner: LGBT lawyers.

"There's no social issue that's changed as fast as gay rights, especially for those in major cities who have graduate degrees—which pretty much describes lawyers in big firms," says Keith Wetmore, the former chairman of Morrison & Foerster who came out in 1982, one of the first lawyers to do so. Wetmore, now a recruiter for Major, Lindsey & Africa, says, "It's such a nonissue when partners move laterally. Firms just care about their book of business."