NALP Bulletin, January 2003 

Of the close to 118,000 attorneys collectively reported by law firms in the 2002-2003 NALP Directory of Legal Employers (NDLE), just 159, or about 0.1%, were identified as disabled. About half of those reported as disabled were partners. The number of openly gay attorneys is higher, just over 1,100, or slightly less than 1% of the total attorneys reported. Openly gay associates outnumber openly gay partners by about 2 to 1.

Disabled attorneys are more common among the 25,000 attorneys reported by government and public interest organizations. The reported count of about 400 represents 1.6% of this particular attorney population. Conversely, openly gay attorneys are less commonly reported than at firms, accounting for only 0.5% of the total.

Of note: Some employers do not collect and/or provide information on disabled or openly gay attorneys to the public.