Labor & Employment

Afternoon Briefs: 2nd Circuit says no to nullification; law prof claims pariah treatment

2nd Circuit directs federal judge to bar jury nullification argument On Wednesday, a federal appeals court directed U.S. District Judge Stefan Underhill to bar defense lawyers from making a jury nullification argument in the case of landlord facing child pornography charges. If convicted, the landlord faced a mandatory 15-year minimum…

Dec 20, 2019 4:32 PM CST

Supreme Court to decide scope of exemption from bias laws for religious schools

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Wednesday to decide two cases involving the “ministerial exception” that bars courts from hearing some employment suits against religious employers.

Dec 20, 2019 3:14 PM CST

Suit accuses BigLaw lawyer of trying to rape an admin assistant and sending her explicit photos

Fox Rothschild has fired one of its lawyers after a lawsuit accused him of trying to sexually assault a legal administrative assistant and sending her a barrage of sexually explicit texts, some of which included pictures of his penis.

Dec 19, 2019 2:51 PM CST

Suit alleges 2 lawyers sexually assaulted paralegal after firm’s annual holiday party

A former paralegal at St. Louis law firm Brown & Crouppen claims in a lawsuit that she was apparently drugged at the firm’s annual holiday party and sexually assaulted by two firm attorneys at an Illinois strip club later that night.

Dec 16, 2019 11:18 AM CST

Sanctions motion by BigLaw firm alleges plaintiffs made up pay-bias claims ‘out of whole cloth’

Jones Day has filed a motion seeking sanctions against plaintiffs who filed a $200 million lawsuit alleging that the law firm discriminates based on gender and motherhood.

Dec 10, 2019 2:34 PM CST

Afternoon Briefs: Alex Kozinski returns as litigator; judge blocks firm’s defamation suit against ex-partner

Alex Kozinski returns to the 9th Circuit on the other side of the bench After retiring in 2017 amid allegations of sexual misconduct, former Judge Alex Kozinski is returning to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at San Francisco to argue a copyright case. Kozinski will contend that the…

Dec 6, 2019 4:20 PM CST

Equity partner at law firm wasn’t protected from mandatory retirement by federal age bias law, 8th Circuit rules

An equity partner at Armstrong Teasdale can’t sue under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act for his ouster under a mandatory retirement policy, a federal appeals court has ruled.

Dec 4, 2019 2:47 PM CST

BigLaw firm settles with 5 pregnancy-bias plaintiffs in $200M suit

Five out of seven plaintiffs who sued Morrison & Foerster for alleged “mommy track” bias have settled their claims after a mediation session, according to a court filing.

Dec 3, 2019 11:35 AM CST

Malpractice suit claims BigLaw firm revealed too much information in discovery

A malpractice lawsuit filed against Littler Mendelson claims that the law firm gave too much information to a client’s opponent during discovery in a dispute over overtime pay.

Dec 2, 2019 2:02 PM CST

Law firm employee who reported suspected overbilling can’t sue for wrongful discharge, court says

An accounts receivable clerk who was fired from her law firm job after reporting suspected overbilling can’t sue for wrongful discharge, according to West Virginia’s top court.

Nov 27, 2019 1:55 PM CST

Afternoon Briefs: Subpoenas reportedly seek Giuliani-related information; 3 exonerated after 36 years in prison

Subpoenas reportedly seek information related to Giuliani and his consulting firm Federal prosecutors who are investigating two associates of lawyer Rudy Giuliani have issued subpoenas seeking documents relating to the lawyer and his consulting firm, Giuliani Partners, according to anonymous sources who spoke with multiple publications. The investigation also reportedly…

Nov 26, 2019 4:45 PM CST

The role of counsel in preserving and protecting a closely held business

Many lawyers, accountants and business consultants advise closely held and family businesses. A critical time for these counselors occurs when the founder and sole owner starts to consider the role and responsibilities of the next generation, particularly if some of those adult children are employees of the business. There are…

Nov 26, 2019 10:22 AM CST

Federal judge reluctantly upholds reinstatement of engineer who defecated on train connector

A railroad engineer who defecated on a knuckle connecting train cars must get his job back as a result of an arbitration board decision, a federal judge has reluctantly ruled.

Nov 25, 2019 2:19 PM CST

Lawyer accused of bringing gun to law office that fired her

Updated: A Texas lawyer is accused of bringing a handgun last Friday to the Denton law office that had just fired her. Police arrested Petrina Thompson, 53, and charged her with three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. The Denton Record Chronicle, Fox 4 News and NBCDFW have…

Nov 19, 2019 11:21 AM CST

Afternoon Briefs: Law firm settles age bias suit; SCOTUS reviews Oracle’s $9B copyright claim

Pryor Cashman settles associate’s age bias suit Pryor Cashman has settled a lawsuit by an associate who said the firm violated the Age Discrimination in Employment Act when it fired him after 18 years on the job. The associate, Alan Laufer, was 61 when he was fired. The law firm…

Nov 15, 2019 4:37 PM CST