CMS and Pride in London host LGBT panel event to mark LGBT History Month

On 15 February, Pride in London and law firm CMS hosted an evening panel around "LGBT rights: a changing landscape?" The evening featured a lively panel discussion chaired by Ben Bland, Presenter & Correspondent at BBC News, with panellists including Polly Shute, Sponsorship & Partnerships Director for Pride in London; Benjamin Cohen, founder and CEO of PinkNews; Dr Nicola Humberstone from Opening Doors; and Lisa Power MBE, LGBT rights campaigner and co-founder of Stonewall.

Penelope Warne, Senior Partner at CMS introduced the event, with opening remarks by Polly Shute.

Over 220 participants and the four panellists shared their views on how LGBT+ rights have progressed over the past 50 years since The Sexual Offences Act 1967 was passed marking the partial decriminalisation of male homosexuality in England and Wales. The panellists also shared their thoughts on some of the challenges and hurdles that still need to be overcome, including an end to ageism in the LGBT community and improved transgender rights, to allow the LGBT+ community the freedoms to live their lives on a genuinely equal footing with all in our society.

CMS is proud to be the Official Legal Sponsor of Pride in London since 2013 and supports a number of other initiatives to promote diversity and inclusion within society as one of the cornerstone principles of the organisation. CMS believes that an inclusive environment and a diverse workforce are key to having a successful business. Penelope Warne comments “At CMS, we are proud of our achievements in the area of diversity and inclusion, and particularly of the role that we can play in sharing our values, ideas, experiences and learning with clients, partners and peers, to create a supportive and high-performing culture where everyone's careers can flourish.”