Barnes & Thornburg - 1792 Exchange

Rating Overview

Barnes & Thornburg is Medium Risk.

Barnes & Thornburg often yields to political activism in shaping corporate governance, potentially alienating consumers, dividing employees, and harming shareholders. The company implements race and identity-based policies that replace merit, excellence, and integrity with preferential treatment and outcomes. Barnes & Thornburg occasionally embraces corporate initiatives that redirect its central focus from business goals to partisan policies and divisive issues at times. This approach fails to safeguard free exercise, free speech, and free enterprise.

Rating Criteria

Corporate Weaponization Risk Levels
Criteria	Risk Level
Cancellations	Medium Risk
Discriminatory Philanthropy	Lower Risk
Employment Protection	High Risk

Corporate Weaponization ⓘ

Corporate Governance and Public Policy Risk Levels
Criteria	Risk Level
Advocacy Bias	High Risk
Funding	High Risk
Political Actions	High Risk

Corporate Governance and Public Policy ⓘ

Rating Criteria Detail

Criteria Risk Level Rationale

Corporate Weaponization

Criteria:

Has canceled customers, suppliers, or vendors due to their political views or religious beliefs OR corporately boycotts, divests, or sanctions regions, people groups, or industries.

Risk Level:

Medium

Rationale:

Barnes & Thornburg received a score of 60 on the 2025 Corporate Equality Index (CEI) from the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), a political stakeholder group. The company recruits employees based on sexual identity issues, indicating it prioritizes sexual issues over merit (1)(2). Barnes & Thornburg has not publicly canceled customers, suppliers, or vendors based on political views or religious beliefs (3).

Criteria:

Charitable giving (including employee matching programs) policies or practices discriminate against charitable organizations based on views or religious beliefs.

Risk Level:

Lower

Rationale:

Barnes & Thornburg does not appear to discriminate against charitable organizations based on views or beliefs. It “extends its support to organizations in underserved communities through sponsorships and donations; including schools, health providers, legal clinics, food banks, and many more” (1)(2).

Criteria:

Employment policies fail to protect against viewpoint or other discrimination and/or are ideological in nature.

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

Barnes & Thornburg‘s HRC 2025 CEI rating indicates the company provides gender transition guidelines for its employees and a specific benefits guide with a comprehensive explanation of transgender services funded by the company (1)(2). Barnes & Thornburg is Mansfield Certified, indicating its support of DEI in its recruitment, hiring, promotions, and leadership composition (3)(4). Barnes & Thornburg is a member firm of Bloomberg Law’s DEI Framework, indicating its support of DEI in its advocacy, recruitment, hiring, promotions, and leadership compensation (5)(6). Barnes & Thornburg does not provide viewpoint protections for its employees (7). The company has also integrated implicit bias training for its employees (8).

Corporate Governance and Public Policy

Criteria:

Uses corporate reputation to support causes, organizations, or policies hostile to freedom of expression.

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

Barnes & Thornburg integrates DEI into its business practices (1). The firm advocates for the integration of ESG and DEI into crisis management planning (2).

Criteria:

Uses corporate funds to advance ideological causes, organizations, or policies hostile to freedom of expression.

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

Barnes & Thornburg has a Racial and Social Justice Foundation that “is committed to promoting, advocating, and effecting racial and social justice”. It has donated $750,000 to 15 organizations over the past 3 years (1)(2). In 2022, it donated $50,000 to Zora’s House (3). In 2020, it donated $50,000 to the Social Justice Learning Institute (4). It has also sponsored an LGBTQ Pride event in Indiana (5)(6). The company’s HRC 2025 CEI rating indicates the company covers transgender related costs for its employees and their children, including paid short-term leave, puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, chest surgeries, genital surgeries, medical visits and lab monitoring, travel and lodging. By allowing a political stakeholder group to dictate operations, the company increases health care costs and risks dividing employees, alienating customers and harming shareholders (7)(8). Barnes & Thornburg is a member of the MCCA, indicating its focus on recruiting, retaining, and promoting employees based on race (9)(10). Otherwise, there are no publicly known cases of the company using corporate funds to advance ideological causes, organizations, or policies (11).

Criteria:

Uses corporate political actions and/or financial contributions for ideological, non-business purposes.

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

Barnes & Thornburg has donated $8,500 to the Equality PAC and does not engage in lobbying at this time (1)(2)(3). Barclay & Thornburg is a part of the Law Firm Antiracism Alliance, committed to work on initiatives that fight “systemic racism” (4)(5).