McMillan partner John Clifford named for the third consecutive year to the prestigious global OUTstanding 100 Leading LGBT+ Executives List, as presented by Yahoo Finance

McMillan partner John Clifford named for the third consecutive year to the prestigious global OUTstanding 100 Leading LGBT+ Executives List, as presented by Yahoo Finance

For the third consecutive year, McMillan LLP senior partner John Clifford has been named to the global 100 OUTstanding Leading LGBT+ Executives List in recognition of his business achievements and impact on LGBTQ inclusion across the firm and beyond.

Developed by INvolve Ltd in London, England, and published this year by Yahoo Finance, the prestigious annual OUTstanding LGBT+ Role Model Lists include 100 LGBT+ Executives, 50 LGBT+ Future Leaders, 50 Ally Executives and 30 Public Sector LGBT+ Executives.

The acknowledgment highlights John’s commitment to creating a diverse and inclusive environment within McMillan and in the Canadian legal and business communities, particularly for people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer.

“It is humbling to be on the list again and to be in the company of so many accomplished LGBTQ executives and professionals from some of the world’s largest and most well-respected corporations and professional firms,” said John Clifford. “I know firsthand the positive impact that out LGBTQ role models can have on the careers and ambitions of other LGBTQ people in our legal and business communities.”

Suki Sandhu, Founder & CEO of INvolve, said, “We’re delighted to be celebrating another fantastic group of people from across the globe who are collectively driving cultural change and creating workplaces where everyone can succeed. LGBT+ discrimination is still prevalent in a lot of the world’s biggest economies, but highlighting the work of successful role models changes people’s perceptions. They demonstrate that you can be successful and out at work, but most importantly inspire the next generation of LGBT+ leaders.”

Based in McMillan’s Toronto office, John leads the firm’s national Business Law/M&A Group.  He is recognized internationally as a leading mergers & acquisitions, business and competition law lawyer.

John was a founding member of, and now co-chairs, the Inclusion and Diversity Committee at McMillan and he was the catalyst for the founding of Fierté McMillan Pride, the firm’s affinity group for LGBTQ professionals. Each year, the firm celebrates Pride with events in all offices across Canada, for both clients and employees.

Outside the firm, John has been an active member of Canada’s Law Firm Diversity and Inclusion Network (LFDIN) since its inception in 2012. The network’s 33 member law firms share ideas and work together to promote diversity and encourage a culture of inclusion in their firms and the legal professional generally. A founding member of exeQutive in 2007, John continues to provide leadership to the forum in its mission to promote, support and strengthen the careers of Toronto-based LGBTQ executives, professionals, and business and community leaders. John has also participated on and chaired LGBTQ involvement committees of the American Bar Association, and has been involved in political campaigns to increase awareness of LGBTQ issues and LGBTQ voter participation.

In 2016, John was honoured with the Start Proud (Out On Bay Street) Professional Leadership Award as well as the 2016 Lexpert Zenith Award, Celebrating Diversity and Inclusion.

See the full OUTstanding 2019 Leading 100 LGBT+ Executives List as presented by Yahoo Finance.