High-Profile Ex-Staff Attorney's Lawsuit Against Covington & Burling Is Dismissed
A discrimination suit filed earlier this year by a high-profile former staff attorney against Covington & Burling and five current or former lawyers there has been dismissed.
In a order (PDF) filed today, U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton of the District of Columbia dismisses the case without prejudice for want of prosecution, saying that plaintiff Yolanda Young and her counsel failed to appear at a scheduled status conference this morning.
Walton says in the order that the plaintiff’s failure to appear follows earlier violations on her part of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and local rules, as well as Young’s “conducting herself in a manner that has impeded the defendants’ ability to defend against this action.” Among the examples of such conduct that he cites in a footnote are not responding on a timely basis—or, in one instance, at all—to two defense motions.
A written statement provided to Above the Law, by Covington & Burling’s defense counsel recounts the procedural posture of the case.
An author and blogger as well as an attorney, Young describes her background in On Being a Black Lawyer.
Young declined to comment to Above the Law about the dismissal. Although she posted on her blog on the Covington case on Feb. 24 and March 30, it doesn’t appear that Young has yet made any comment there about the dismissal.
Earlier coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Covington Returns Yolanda Young Fire, Says Ex-Staff Lawyer Had Lackluster GPA”
ABAJournal.com: “High-Profile Ex-Staff Lawyer Sues Covington & Burling, Alleges Discrimination”
Updated at 2:55 p.m. to include links to Young’s blog.
