June 2022: David Quintavelle is Associate Director of HR Operations in our London office. He's shared his #MyPrideStory with us and shares his perspective on why diversity and inclusion is important to White & Case's clients.

Having an LGBTQ+ community where you live is important to me

My community was much stronger in New York where I grew up and lived until moving to Kent in 2019 and London in 2020. I maintained several circles of friends with different interests that only combined when we would throw parties for Gay Pride or year-end holidays. Support and humour were always key ingredients and I am sure they will be foremost as I build a new community in London.

It matters enormously that I can be out at work

For the early half of my working life, I was neutral. I did not invent girlfriends nor a straight life as many did, but I filtered anything gay out of the details of my home life, weekends and holidays. So it's fantastic that now I can comfortably mention my partner in a conversation with a colleague and talk about our life as real as that of anyone else.

For me, the most significant change over the years has been the increased inclusion of straight friends and family in my life. Many of our friends and close neighbours have young children. It has been wonderful to spend time with them—at home and on shared adventures.

Feeling different made me want to experience more things that were different

Different became something to seek out rather than avoid or put down. That may not have always helped my career, but it made me be a better listener and more open to various points of view, which has definitely impacted the quality of my work.

Clients are increasingly engaged in the promotion of diversity

My team and I do a lot of work responding to client surveys on diversity, so I know that the Firm is committed to honouring its clients' interests in this area. Clients are increasingly engaged in the promotion of diversity.

The first NYC Pride Parade I watched was in 1976

It was mind-blowing to see that many people like me together, in public and in daylight! It was a number of years later, during the AIDS crisis, that I first marched. It was an alternative, protest march on Gay Pride Day that stopped to stage a die-in outside St. Patrick's Cathedral. I had lost a best friend to AIDS. Marching was a very personal and emotional moment.

This year, I am looking forward to joining the White & Case London Spectrum contingent for whatever is planned. It has been too long.