Dude, Where’s Her Car? Ex-Counsel Sues Skadden
The global megafirm that is Skadden is known for its “work hard, play hard” culture. We were hoping to get the chance to observe it firsthand, after one of the Skadden Insider bloggers toyed with the idea of inviting us to the firm’s 60th anniversary celebration on Ellis Island last month. Alas, it didn’t happen.
Skadden’s “macho” firm culture has been raised in a lawsuit that was covered in the press last week. From an article by Anthony Lin in the New York Law Journal:
Rita W. Gordon, a former counsel in the firm’s litigation department, was fired in 2005 for allegedly inappropriately charging clients for personal car service use. The firm reported her to the Departmental Disciplinary Committee and reimbursed several clients.But Gordon claims her car service use was no different from that of other lawyers at the firm and that Skadden’s real aim “was to find a non-discriminatory excuse for terminating a 60-year-old woman and replace her with a younger man whose demeanor and conduct was more consistent with the ‘macho’ image of Skadden’s Litigation Department.”
Gordon filed suit against the firm and senior litigation partner Samuel Kadet in August 2006.
One former Skaddenite is surprised about Kadet being named as a defendant:
[O]f all the partners in the Skadden Litigation department, Sam Kadet is widely recognized as being one of the most polite and genuinely caring individuals there. While it’s not shocking that any Big Law firm might be on the receiving end of these allegations, it struck me as bizarre that Sam Kadet was personally named, given his exceedingly positive reputation.
Here’s another aspect of Rita Gordon’s case that some might find a little odd. From the NYLJ article:
According to her suit, Gordon was summoned to Kadet’s office in May 2005 and summarily fired for unauthorized car service charges totalling $50,000. Gordon claims the figure was reduced to $23,000 over a five-year period when the firm reported her to disciplinary authorities two weeks later.
Fifty grand in car service charges? Talk about a carbon footprint. Translated into Unlimited Ride MetroCards, that would have purchased Gordon about fifty years’ worth of subway usage.
But, global warming be damned, Gordon wasn’t a much of a straphanger:
Skadden lawyers are permitted to take cars home when they work past a certain hour at night, as well as at other times when client service demands. But Gordon is arguing she was justified in taking cars to and from her apartment at times other than late at night because she worked on client matters at home. She claims a 1994 back injury made it painful for her to sit at her desk for long hours or to work on papers back and forth on the subway.
Sitting at a desk for long hours? Isn’t that the definition of being an attorney?
(In all seriousness, if Gordon did have the need for some sort of accommodation, she probably should have cleared it with firm management in advance, with appropriate documentation placed in her personnel file. Just our two cents.)
Car Service at Issue in Age, Sex Discrimination Claim Against Skadden [New York Law Journal]
Lawyer v. Law Firm: A Law Blog Roundup [WSJ Law Blog]
Give us your tired, your poor, your huddled masses [Skadden Insider]
(41) Comments
Comments
First to say, this lawsuit is sketchy.
$50,000 on car service!
Guys in my high school used to take unauthorized car rides and charged clients $50,000 all the time, it was no big deal.
Skadden is not a work hard play hard firm. That title is more appropriate to places like Latham or Kirkland that have discretionary bonuses. Skadden is more of a work hard, get paid market firm. Nothing wrong with that in this job market.
9:32 - You haven't been to Skadden Prom. Or to the holiday party.
"Work hard, play hard" = Hardworking firm where people also know how to have a good time. E.g. Skadden.
Bonuses are not relevant to this.
Fist to say Skadden = TTT
9:36 is that what 'work hard play hard" means? omg thank you.
some of these cheerleaders are about to be cold-offered-member-of-bloated-summer-class-PWN3D in all likelihood....
was she a partner? If so, why would she be so cheap - obtain her own damn car service. If not ... why the hell is a 60-year-old non-partner working full time in the litigation department at Skadden? tough times?
10:50 - No, counsel (level right below partner).
Skadden is a TTT firm....
Guys in my high school used to take unauthorized car rides and stole money all the time, it was no big deal.
Skadden is a macho firm? They're definitely going to be #1 on my OCI bid list!
Sounds like Driving Ms. Daisy Part Deux
I love when any group of attorneys are refered to as "macho." It's like jumbo shrimp.
I used to take car service home every night when I was an associate -- I always worked past 10 and didn't want to take the subway so late at night -- if she wasn't working late, she sould have been given car service (charged to the firm) if she was really too ill to take the train on a regular basis... the subways have steep stairs and very rarely do they have elevators in working order ... if she had a back problem/ used a cane I can see why she would need to avoid the subway...Skadden probably made a killing off her... cheap ba$tards could have paid for her transporation.
10:44 - I'm willing to bet Skadden wasn't making a killing off of her. If she was really bringing in alot of money, Skadden would have looked the other way on this.
10.44 -- the problem is that she was charging her car rides to her clients, not to skadden. if she wanted to negotiate a special deal where skadden would pay for her transportation, she should have talked to skadden about it -- they could have made that call one way or the other. frankly, i wouldn't have accomodated her on it -- many people take different transportation options to work and pay for their individualized choices. a car service tends to be the most expensive -- if she couldn't take the train, she should have done what normal people do, which is to take a taxi, not try to charge someone else for a fancy ride...
This is 10:44 again -- I agree she shouldn't have charged the rides to clients ... and that she should have worked something out with the firm ... but if she didn't live in the city taxis would have been as pricey as car service and less reliable... very few city cabs will leave Manhattan without much coaxing and a monetary inducement -- I don't know ... I guess she could have paid for some of her rides on her own ... I just feel bad for her... it's really hard to navigate this city if you are disabled
Newbie here. What is TTT?
again ttt= third tier toilet.
now the fac that she charged the rides to clients just shows culpability. this assumes of course that this is what happened
Newbie here. What's third tier?
third tier = first two letters of TTT
She has no claim. Her lawsuit will get thrown out on summary judgment She can't prove that her termination was related to her gender. And her disability claims are BS. Sitting at your desk all day is an essential function of an attorney's job. If she wanted an accommodation she should have requested one from Skadden. A reasonable accommodation would be to buy her a special chair. However, an employer doesn't have an obligation to pay for an employee's car service home. That is not reasonable. This women should just be happy that she is past 60, can soon collect her retirement and that she likely has enough money to live nicely till she dies.
1:01 - where you go to school, the firm at which you will work, the suburb in which you will live, the country club at which you will golf, and the school your children will attend.
1:44 -
Just because he goes to NYU doesn't mean you have to rub it in his face.
FTT = first tier toilet
STT = second tier toilet
TTT = third tier toilet
"Sitting at a desk for long hours? Isn't that the definition of being an attorney?"
Actually, no. That's what attorneys at biglaw do (well, associates anyway). The vast majority of attorneys, believe it or not, are meeting with clients, negotiating deals, going to court, taking depositions, etc. In other words, developing a practice to sustain them and their families. Lat, I know the vast majority of those who read atl are biglaw, but you do a disservice to your young readers by lumping all attorneys together. If you want to get up from your doc review, take off the golden handcuffs and do it. No one at your firm will do it for you, that's for sure.
2:28 = TTT and BigLaw envy. Where are you going to lunch?
2:48, I work at a top 5 biglaw firm and am eating lunch at my desk, as always, since I am buried in work. I'm sure you're making partner at your firm, so no need to flame, just trying to help out the more junior people to understand their options before their marketability expires.
3:05 - Got it. Was mostly making a joke. Glad to hear that you're busy...not the case here.
- 2:48
3:07/2:48 so where are you going for lunch (not busy correct)?
3:05/2:48 so no work then where are you going for lunch?!
Newbie here. What do you call posters who respond seriously to facetious questions?
3:30 - Troll feeders.
3:07/2:48 here - Yes, slow times here in the Valley (at least for me). Went to Evvia, blew budget on wine. Pretty solid, as usual.
Evvia and I wasn't invited? F you guys.
What kind of wine?
David,
50,000 in car service charges doesn't sound like that much if you think about it. $50,000/5 years=$10,000 per year. $10,000 /12 months= $833 per month. If we assume that car service can cost an average of $45 per trip, that's only 18-19 trips per months.
Given that Skadden attorneys work late nights (and thus, are allowed car service after a certain hour) all the time, it's not at all unthinkable that this would could have legitimately taken the car home often, resulting in this bill. Just a thought.
5:34--maybe, but:
(1) Was this her only client?! In FIVE years?
(2) At a certain point, you need to realize you may be pushing the envelope and check in with your employers. If I was running a tab of nearly a grand a month for a car (essentially the price to lease my own 5 series) I would check with a partner, probably by email to have a record of the conversation. Its the kind of thing where every once in a while you can imagine its not a problem, but cummulatively anyone with common sense should know it *could* become an issue.
5:10 - One of the Greek whites for entrees, one for dessert (dessert wine was very eh, but didn't want to pony up for Dolce). Didn't go crazy (don't want to rock the boat--as I mentioned, we're kind of slow right now), but easily exceeded our less-than-the-NY-office lunch budget.
You're officially invited after the summers leave and I'm back to picking up a sandwich/salad and eating it at my desk alone.
Gosh, 8:21- you make me a little depressed...