Ellis Jones Solicitors Celebrates Pride month

Alongside our commitment to our people, we are also proud to be supporting the LGBTQ+ community through the expertise and specialised services that we offer. In particular, we are pleased to offer specialist surrogacy services to help LGBTQ+ couples plan for a family. This service is led by Nicola Scott, who in 2013, was the first solicitor in the England & Wales to qualify into practicing fertility law.

What is pride month?

Pride Month has its roots in the Stonewall Riots in the United States, which took place in June 1969. Since then, Pride Month has developed as a celebration and commemoration of the LGBTQ+ community.

How Ellis Jones supports our LGBTQ+ people

We are committed to being a fully equal, diverse and inclusive law firm. The initiatives we offer to our people to promote these aims include encouraging the internal sharing of personal stories, offering one-to-one mentoring sessions to all, and organising regular social events.

How Ellis Jones supports the LGBTQ+ community

While Pride Month takes place every June, we support the LGBTQ+ community year-round through our dedicated services. Through our work over the years, we have developed substantial expertise in dealing with a wide range of issues which specifically affect the LGBTQ+ community. During Pride month, we will be releasing regular blogs showcasing our work within the community and providing first hand insights into contemporary legal issues which affect the LGBTQ+ community.

Family

An insight into the legal process, including hurdles, in relation to family building in the UK. This will be followed up with a case study to illustrate the issues in practice.

Employment

While LGBTQ+ rights and protections have advanced significantly since 1969, discrimination remains a continuing reality in the workplace for the LGBTQ+ community. Within the media, much of the recent discourse has focussed on trans rights and discrimination. In addition, another employment issue which affects the LGBTQ+ community is parental leave in cases of surrogacy or adoption. Our employment team will share its views on these issues and more.

Wills, Trusts and Probate

LGBTQ+ couples who have children may have pursued fertility treatment or commissioned surrogacy, donor conception or co-parenting arrangements. In which case, unless your will is carefully worded, your children may not benefit. This also applies to financial arrangements like pensions and/or Death in Service benefits at work. Our experts in the Wills, Trusts and Probate team will highlight some key elements that members of the LGBTQ+ community should consider when writing their Wills.

Dispute Resolution

The LGBTQ+ community are at a heightened risk of experiencing discrimination in their day-to-day life. While certain acts of discrimination may be criminal, there are also cases which are of a civil nature, and which can result in a legal dispute. This can include being turned away by a business or being declined a service due to sexual orientation. A famous example of this in the UK is the case of Lee v Ashers Baking Company Ltd and others in 2022, which was colloquially referred to as the ‘gay cake’ case, which concerned a gay couple taking legal action against a bakery for refusing to make a cake supporting same-sex marriage.

Our expert dispute resolution team will share its insights into civil litigious matters and considerations for the LGBTQ+ community.

Get in touch

Our specialist LGBTQ+ solicitors always get to know you and/or your business and your circumstances so we are able to guide you about these matters and any others that may be relevant to you.

If you would like to discuss any issues raised in this news article, please do not hesitate to contact our specialist LGBTQ+ solicitors by calling 01202 525333 or via email at lgbt@ellisjones.co.uk.