(GayWebSource.com – Gay News & Press Network) – Posted by Michael Lamb – Echelon Magazine

Legal issues that matter deeply to the LGBTQ community are the focus of a groundbreaking blog launched this month by Bowditch & Dewey, LLP, a Massachusetts-based firm where diversity and inclusion are hallmarks of the firm culture.

The blog, believed to be the first of its kind published by a major U.S. law firm, will cover legal issues involving same-sex marriage and divorce, insurance, employment discrimination, and estate and tax planning. Caitlin Jenner’s male to female transition and alleged discrimination against gays by Zara, a Spanish clothing retailer, are among the first eight discussions to launch the blog.

Few multi-service firms of significant size have launched a blog like this with firm-wide support and cross-practice involvement. The blog was the outcome of a spirited internal discussion about rapidly evolving legal issues pertaining to the LGBTQ community. The firm has been at the forefront of these issues, having produced an April 2014 college roundtable seminar called “Diversity on Campus: Transgender Students.”

James D. Hanrahan, managing partner of Bowditch & Dewey said, “We are in a unique position to provide a broad view and analysis of the legal issues affecting the LGBTQ community. We help our business and nonprofit clients navigate and comply with the legal implications of these issues – especially our higher education clients. LGBTQ issues impact our estate planning, elder law, and domestic law clients and other practice areas, including our employment practice, which has handled multiple discrimination claims against employer clients.”

Bowditch & Dewey Associate Jennifer L. Garner will be the principal contributor. Garner, a civil litigation attorney, has a long-time interest in the LGBTQ community. A graduate of Suffolk University Law School, she was co-president of the Queer Law Alliance in law school and is a member of the Massachusetts LGBTQ Bar Association.

“Even as members of the LGBTQ community become more assimilated, the law is still catching up, “ said Maria Rockwell, a partner whose practice focuses on probate and domestic relations cases, and who will be a contributing editor to the blog. “We hope to inform blog readers about issues such as division of assets when a same-sex marriage dissolves, or what happens when same-sex spouses seek a divorce in a state that does not recognize such unions.”

“I am excited to be involved in this ground-breaking blog and grateful for the support Bowditch & Dewey has shown for this project,” said Garner. “There are so many questions we can answer for our LGBTQ clients and numerous evolving legal issues to write about.”

Other firm members who will be contributing editors include partners Ariel G. Sullivan, Audrey O’Shaughnessy and Terrence Briggs, and associates AiVi Nguyen, Richard P. Breed IV and Timothy Powell.

The blog may be accessed at www.lgbtqlegalissues.com.

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