An out local lawyer is receiving an award from a national LGBT legal group.
Brian Seaman and other distinguished lawyers from across the country have earned the title of “Best LGBT Lawyers Under 40” from the National LGBT Bar Association and will be honored at the association’s annual Lavender Law Conference and Career Fair Aug. 6 in Chicago.
“I was very surprised. The group of people who I was included with are very accomplished,” Seaman said.
Seaman, 37, has practiced at the firm Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young since 2003 and now chairs its diversity committee. His LGBT-focused accomplishments include publishing articles on how to be a successful out job candidate, working with LGBT law students and founding a local theater company that has since produced several plays with LGBT themes.
Laura Hoch, LGBT Bar manager of policy and communications, said Seaman was a “great nominee who really exemplified what we’re looking for.”
“Not only did he have an impressive record as a litigator but he had an impressive record to the community,” she said. “He and the other nominees showed a true commitment to furthering LGBT equality and bettering the legal community.”
As chair of Stradley’s diversity committee, Seaman, who earned his law degree from the University of Pittsburgh, works to recruit and retain diverse attorneys at Stradley firms across the country.
“We are working to create an environment where LGBT attorneys feel like not only are they accepted for who they are but fully embraced for the perspective they can bring,” Seaman said. “Embracing diversity allows everyone to do better work. If you can be the same person in work that you are out of work, you are going to be a much more productive employee.”
Ten years ago, Seaman was closeted, an experience he said prompted him to share what he has learned with law students.
“Things were a lot different then,” Seaman said. “When I was going through law school, I found it incredibly challenging how to be a gay guy in an interview. That’s why I feel it’s important to get out to law schools and say, ‘Hey guys, here’s how to be a successful gay candidate.’”
Seaman has witnessed the benefits of diversity at his own firm.
“‘Gay’ isn’t a dirty word anymore,” he said. “It’s actually a selling point. We can talk about what ways an LGBT attorney in a firm is actually going to work to your advantage, how clients are looking for diverse panels of people. You can actually say to clients, ‘We have this amazing gay attorney working on your case.’”