While gay attorneys say stigmas and attitudes about LGBTQ people began to change in the 1990s as more people became familiar with that community, the state’s only openly transgender equity partner said he had some pushback from the law firm he worked for when  transitioning back in 2002.

Beck Fineman has been with Ryan Ryan Deluca, a 50-year-old-plus Stamford firm, for 11 years. But back in 2002 he worked as a paralegal for Covington & Burling in Washington, D.C. There was mixed reaction from staff at the powerhouse firm to his transitioning to a man.