Bloomberg dot com
By Cynthia Cotts

The Washington-based nonprofit group compiles an annual directory of data from about 700 large U.S. law firms. They reported 1,733 openly gay lawyers in 2006, up from about 1,100 four years earlier. Openly gay lawyers represent 1.8 percent of associates and 1.1 percent of partners.

The increase is driven partly by corporate clients, says Jeff Morof, managing partner of Bryan Cave's Chicago office. More than a dozen have asked the firm for a commitment to diversity, which Bryan Cave defines as hiring without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, age, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability.