Fish & Richardson IP litigator Danielle Joy "DJ" Healey was working remotely this spring, so she was able to live as a woman for several weeks before she informed her firm she was transgender and transitioning to live as a woman.
Healey, a 57-year-old senior principal in Houston who was formerly known as David Healey, said the firm worked with her to make it as easy as possible to announce her change to clients and to people at work.
"They ultimately worked with me and put together a plan on how to do this and how to notify people," she said, noting that the firm, to its credit, let her have the ultimate call on timing.
"They put an enormous amount of effort and time and energy into it. It just shows that the Fish family is really a family," she said.
Fish & Richardson's support for Healey, who was one of three lawyers who left Weil, Gotshal & Manges in 2008 to open the firm's Houston office, is very unusual, said D'Arcy Kemnitz, executive director of the National LGBT Bar Association.
"We're delighted that DJ was able to transition with the support of her firm. We would not say that is typical in any way, shape or form. Firms have a long way to go," Kemnitz said.
Kemnitz said Healey's seniority at the firm probably worked in her favor in garnering support from Fish & Richardson. In another recent case, the Am Law Daily reported in January that a new partner at Goodwin Procter is transgender and had informed the firm even before he started work as a first-year associate that he was transitioning to a man.
Healey announced last week that she is transgender and living her "authentic self" as a woman. But she started living as a woman privately in late spring while working in California and at home in Houston. In early May, Healey said, she informed her firm, and lawyers and administrators from around the firm started talking to her about a plan for how to notify clients and people at the firm.
"It was a very well thought out plan. It went very smoothly. My clients have been very supportive," she said.
The firm issued a written statement last week, saying it fully supports Healey in her transition to live as a woman.
"Diversity and inclusion are crucial to the positive culture and success of our firm, and we treat everyone with respect and dignity at all times. DJ is a valued colleague and an important part of the Fish family, and we will support her completely in the months ahead," the firm wrote in the statement.