International law firm Simmons & Simmons has been promoted to 10th place in Stonewall’s annual Top 100 Employers 2012 in the UK. This is the fourth year running that the firm has been named top law firm and an improvement of nine places from last year .

Stonewall – a charity that works to achieve equality and justice for lesbians, gay men and bisexual people – produces the annual survey, which showcases Britain's top employers for lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB)-friendly employees. Simmons & Simmons is one of over 600 members of the Diversity Champions Programme run by the Stonewall.

To further promote its LGBT initiatives, Simmons & Simmons launched its Straight Allies program at an event hosted by the firm last year with leading speakers from the industry and Stonewall.

The program, headed by Colin Passmore, Senior Partner at Simmons & Simmons, encourages, educates and enthuses on LGBT topics throughout Simmons & Simmons.

He said: “I am pleased that we are again ranked as the top law firm in the UK for our LGBT efforts. We are proud of the work we put into our initiatives and see our continued improvement as a mark of their ongoing success and the efforts of many colleagues across the firm. A focus on diversity is a key element of our corporate responsibility strategy, including continued support of our LGBT network internally and for our clients.”

Partner and co-chair of the firm’s LGBT Network David Stone, said: “We are very proud to participate in Stonewall’s comprehensive index. Highlighting LGBT issues is always a challenge for the legal sector. The continued development of LGBT networks across law firms and the work of Stonewall and InterLaw, has helped enormously to raise the profile of this issue within the sector and to encourage LGBT people to apply.”

“Congratulations to Simmons & Simmons for securing the tenth position in Stonewall’s Top Employers 2012 and becoming the first legal employer to break in to the Top 10. Competition for a place in the Top 100 was fiercer than ever this year,” says Ben Summerskill, Stonewall Chief Executive. “With new, more demanding criteria, every employer securing a position in the Top 100 has performed impressively – and the participating employers collectively employ over 1.9 million people. The Index remains a powerful tool used by Britain's 1.7 million gay employees and 150,000 gay university students to decide where to take their talent and skills.”