This Pride Month, we are pleased to highlight Addison Chappell, an associate on our Creditors’ Rights & Bankruptcy team in Baltimore. Addison discussed why Pride Month is important to him and the LGBTQIA+ community, as well as what he wished his colleagues knew about being LGBTQIA+.

“Pride is freedom. I spent years hiding my true self from the world because I was afraid of how society would judge me. I am not alone in that experience. Thousands (or possibly millions) of members of the community have remained in the closet due to fear of how they would be judged or fear that they would be rejected. Pride allows everyone in the community to achieve freedom from that fear. Coming out of the closet is perhaps the most terrifying experience most of us go through, yet it is necessary and liberating. By celebrating Pride each year, we as a community reject fear and choose acceptance. We show the world that it is safe to live your authentic life.”

“I think Miles & Stockbridge does a fantastic job of embracing the community and making me feel welcome. That being said, I know this is not the case for everyone across the country. I think it is helpful if everyone realized that members of the LGBTQIA+ community are no different than everyone else. We laugh at the same jokes, we watch the same TV shows, and we share the same concerns that everyone else does. We are humans, just like you.”