MMMPower – MMM’s affinity group for LGBTQ+ employees and allies – was founded in 2014. Organized under the umbrella of our Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee, the core purposes of MMMPower are to:
- Provide a safe and supportive space for LGBTQ+ employees and allies to come together once a month to discuss topics of interest and concern
- Raise awareness within the Firm of important legal and societal issues facing the LGBTQ+ community by sponsoring CLE events and other outreach opportunities
- Raise the profile of the Firm as a law firm leader in the LGBTQ+ community both as a business development tool and in furtherance of recruiting LGBTQ+ attorneys and staff
Highlights of MMMPower’s recent activities include the following:
- In celebration of National Pride Month, sponsored a firm-wide program on June 4, 2024, focusing on current issues in DEI and LGBTQ+ employees presented by guest speakers from Ferguson Partners, followed by a reception catered by a local LGBTQ+-owned business.
- The Human Rights Campaign Foundation awarded MMM a perfect score of 100 on its 2024 Corporate Equality Index (CEI), an annual assessment of LGBTQ+ workplace equality. This is the firm's sixth consecutive year achieving this important recognition. The CEI is considered the nation's foremost benchmarking survey and report measuring policies, practices, and benefits for LGBTQ+ employees and workplace equality.
- The Washington Business Journal selected MMMPower as a 2024 LGBTQ+ Business Award winner.
- Published MMM’s first-ever LGBTQ+ Health Benefits Guide, detailing all general benefit offerings for services relevant to LGBTQ+ employees, including domestic partner benefits, family formation benefits, and transgender-inclusive healthcare coverages (including transition-related coverages).
- Coordinated a volunteer opportunity at Lost-N-Found Youth on July 8, 2023, assisting with various needs at their thrift store. Lost-N-Found is dedicated to ending homelessness for all LGBTQ+ youth by providing them with the skills and support needed to live independently. In addition to the volunteer opportunity, the firm also held a donation drive to collect clothes and household items for LGBTQ+ youth.
- MMM sponsored a webinar on May 30, 2023, available to all employees titled "Beyond the Binary: Exploring Pronouns and Intersectionality with TGX360." TGX360 is an initiative of the OUTGeorgia Business Alliance that focuses on employment and entrepreneurship for transgender, nonbinary, and gender-expansive persons (MMM was also a sponsor of OUTGeorgia and TGX360 in 2023). MMM has a firm-wide program allowing all employees to add pronouns to their email signatures.
- In celebration of National LGBTQ+ Pride Month, hosted Lori Anderson from Atlanta Legal Aid to the firm on June 16, 2022, to conduct a CLE program on handling gender-affirming name changes and gender marker changes, followed by a cocktail reception. Utilizing training from this program, more than 50 MMM attorneys now provide pro bono assistance with gender-affirming name changes and gender marker changes to members of the metro Atlanta LGBTQ+ community. This pro bono project is ongoing.
- Continued long-standing tradition of annual sponsorships for the following local and national nonprofit organizations serving the LGBTQ+ community:
- Equality Chamber of Commerce in D.C.
- Human Rights Campaign (HRC) and its annual Atlanta Gala
- Lambda Legal, a national organization committed to achieving full recognition of the civil rights of all members of the LGBTQ+ community through impact litigation, education, and public policy work
- The Stonewall Bar Association, a professional association of attorneys, judges, law students, and other legal professionals supporting the rights of LGBTQ+ people and opposing discrimination based upon sexual orientation or gender identity