Afternoon Briefs: Another EEOC charge filed against DLA Piper; PACER costs will go down—for some
Third woman files EEOC charge against DLA Piper
A fired administrative assistant, Andrea Ivan, alleges in an EEOC charge that she was fired from DLA Piper because rainmaking partner Louis Lehot apparently decided she was too old or not attractive enough. DLA Piper said it disagreed with the charge, while Lehot said the letter detailing the allegations was “riddled with lies, just like the previous letters.” Ivan is the third woman to file an EEOC charge that alleges discrimination or harassment by Lehot. The second, a human resources manager, said she had questioned Lehot’s order to fire the administrative assistant. The first, partner Vanina Guerrero, said Lehot had pursued and groped her. Lehot has said he had an emotional relationship with Guerrero, but he did not sexually assault her. (The American Lawyer, Law360, statement by Wigdor lawyer Jeanne Christensen, the EEOC charge)
Federal judge criticizes Trump for targeting judges
Senior U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman of Washington, D.C., received a standing ovation after he criticized President Donald Trump’s attacks on judges in a speech on Wednesday. “We are in unchartered territory,” Friedman said. “We are witnessing a chief executive who criticizes virtually every judicial decision that doesn’t go his way and denigrates judges who rule against him, sometimes in very personal terms. He seems to view the courts and the justice system as obstacles to be attacked and undermined, not as a coequal branch to be respected even when he disagrees with its decisions.” (The Washington Post, the National Law Journal)
Senate Judiciary Committee advances controversial nominee to 2nd Circuit
The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday advanced the nomination of Steven Menashi to the New York-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Democrats and Republicans had both expressed frustration in September when Menashi declined to answer questions about his work as an associate White House counsel for the Trump administration. If Menashi is confirmed by the Senate, the 2nd Circuit will flip, meaning a majority of its judges will have been appointed by Republican presidents. (The National Law Journal, Bloomberg Law)
PACER cost will be zero for more users; Fix the Court calls the change ‘table scraps’
Access to the PACER database of federal case filings will be free to more users beginning Jan. 1. On that date, people who incur up to $30 in PACER fees in a quarter will not be charged. Currently fees are waived when usage is less than $15 in a quarter. The change doesn’t satisfy Fix the Court, which argues the public is still being charged too much. “The table scraps the judiciary is throwing us are unacceptable,” says Fix the Court executive director Gabe Roth. (Fix the Court, Bloomberg Law)
