Out of the Shadows into Pride in Law
Written by Michael Bidwell, Lawyer | The Legal Forecast | Pride in Law
In 2015, a partner of a law firm told me my sexuality would hold back my career. In 2016, I was told to tone it down with who I am. In 2017, the marketing and business development manager told me to be a bit more conscious of what I post during the marriage equality survey because clients may not support it. I spoke out in 2017 after a public incident at a work event. The Director of Human Resources told me she hoped I learned my lesson, and she suggested that I was trying to solve a minority problem with the majority.
If we isolate a portion of the community into the shadows, we can only expect darkness to occur: mental health concerns, addiction, self-harm and crime. It takes one person or one incident to send someone into the shadows. It takes a community to bring them back out. I do not regret the mistakes I made due to feeling like an outsider in the legal profession, but I hope no one else has to experience that feeling.
I have been very fortunate to be one of the founding executive members of Pride in Law with our fearless leader, Dean Clifford-Jones. With the support of our sponsors like Queensland Law Society, we are changing the narrative of what it means to be an openly LGBTIQ+ lawyer. We are creating a safe environment for LGBTIQ+ and ally lawyers to come together to learn, inspire and remind us all that we have a long way to go, but we are going in the right direction.
Pride in Law’s mantra is that through education, visibility and advocacy, we can be the change we wish to see. We believe in a ‘pride community’ where everyone should be proud of who they are and what makes them unique. Our generation of early career lawyers is the most diverse cohort to enter the profession. We are a cohort that can change the future of this profession if we work together. We are a cohort that can solve minority problems with the majority because we are finally starting to reflect the diversity in the community that we serve.
