first to say kash is beautiful

Is Roxanne's real name "Spring"?

A Real Estate Lawyer Laid off in 2008?... shocking!

Well Ms. Springs,

You are claiming discrimination. Your main claim states that you were HIRED because of your color. Your claim does not state you were FIRED (rhymes with hired) because of your skin color. Therefore, YOU have no discrimination claim.

Your claim regarding "commercial bribery" is crap as well.

On a positive note, I can tell you why you WERE fired. The answer is: Because you are a terrible attorney.

This is why stealth layoffs can be problematic. There is established law on reduction in forces, but to attribute a RIF to being a performance based firing creates issues of fact (as to whether the RIF was discriminatory) that the Court will have to suss out, well past 12(b)(6) or its state equivalent. I don't know if Mayer is going to win, but they will have to defend themselves and will be caught up in discovery. Particularly since there are plenty of other attorneys who were likely subject to a RIF that was characterized as a performance firing.

I will never understand how law firms fail to follow the advice (or seek) the advice of its own employment lawyers. Sigh.

You can never escape the gaze of the Mayer Brown Eye.

I'm getting tired of these frivolous Title VII claims by people who claim they were only fired because of race. With a large law firm, that's rarely, if ever, the case.

Yeah, reading about all these layoffs and claims makes me almost glad I got layed off very early in the recession, such that I was able to find another comparatively paying job with a much friendlier firm (and I'm still working).

My ex-firm should also be glad, since my layoff was suspiciously soon after I returned from maternity leave (not to mention the harassment I felt while pregnant - with stress and anxiety symptoms documentation by my doctor) and had I remained unemployed for a significant amount of time (or at least beyond my severence pay w/o a signed release), they too may have been facing a lawsuit.

Using the word race in a sentence is racist.

Carne Asotomayor

7. Based on the comments here, I'm going to assume most firm managers don't ever, ever think they'll be subject to litigation because such claims would only happen on fantasy land. Clearly, they're wrong.

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Yvette is a terrible name

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9 - oh no, you "felt" pressure while pregnant. GOI

dollars to donuts she's a GULC grad

17, guess again...Dook, class of '02

Good gosh! Why do you think they hired her? Yes, because she's got dark skin and can be used for marketing purposes. She didn't seem to mind using her color to get into school and then get a good job. Tough shit she might have lost it because someone firgured out she couldn't read or write.

You are all wrong. She is a SMU grad.

why is a federal cause of action being heard in NC state court?

Mayer White?

This is a good example for all the law firms as to why they should never hire anyone for "diversity" purposes in the first place.

#21 - Restatement 90. Pick up a book sometime.

These types of frivilous lawsuits are costly thorns to defend. This is exactly why utilizing offshore and foreign based attorneys is the answer to the broken model of romancing and coddling spoiled and undeserving louts. Being told that you will make partner does not equate to instant partnership and it should not be construed as a promise to be relied upon. In my career I have told countless folks that they would make partner just to get a little more productivity out of them. Was I serious? Perhaps 5% of the time. Telling someone they will make partner is an industry wide used practice to maximize a person's work output. Her lawsuit will inevitably be dismissed. Nevertheless, these suits should be a wake up call that we need to hire foreign based attorneys who cannot file these types of deleterious suits.

Same actor inference

24. It's not getting dismissed. As 6 pointed out, there are some issues that get this pass a MTD. Also, bad business. That senior associate you lied to probably went in-house and has cut your firm dry. I've seen this occur millions of times. Burning bridges is a two way street.

YveTTTe

Mayer Brown used to be Mayer Black until all the white people started diluting it ... err at least that is what Sotomayor told me.

Dear PE,

You and I know each other, and the temptation for me to reveal your identity is overwhelming given your obnoxious comments here. If the people who read the comments on this site knew your actual station in life, they would have a hearty laugh and then happily go on with their lives.

Person that you know

This type of suit is not a new or novel approach. Depending on the additional facts supplied by the complaint, I wonder whether it overcomes the facts stacked against a BigLaw firm in a recent 7th Circuit opinion.

http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2008/12/15/7th-circuit-lets-ex-foley-associate-go-forward-with-discrimination-suit/

9 - Do you think you were terminated because you were terminated? Or because you spell things like "layed off"?

(correction)

9 - Do you think you were terminated because you were pregnant? Or because you spell things like "layed off"?

Texas bar results have been posted.

Do I think that there are some racists in positions of power in law firms? Absolutely. But if you are an attorney of color, as I am, you need to figure out how to navigate the waters. That means figuring out who will give you the opportunity to be successful, whether it be at your current firm or somewhere else. Because racism is as American as apple pie, you need to learn to deal. You will win some and lose some, but a suit like this is a death blow to any future career as an attorney.

This would never happen at Paul Hastings.

Before we get into a discussion whether this claim will be dismissed on a MTD -

Note that race discrimination cases rarely are dismissed on a MTD. More or less, all you need in a discrimination case to survive a MTD is a timely complaint that states you were discriminated against based on your race.

These cases get dismissed at the SJ level

This is clearly not a miscarriage of justice.

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Yvette = Yolanda Young

30,

PE is a character, a schtick, and a mildly entertaining one at that. No one puts any stock in what PE says, nor does anyone truly believe PE is a real partner. PE's comments are only good for a laugh which, in this economy, is hard to come by. Please do not threaten to "out" PE, or any other ATL "characters" as it will chill the speech of the few entertaining posters out there.

Thanks in advance.

I would like to know the true identity of the Asslobster.

19- you don't get it. Because of her skin color, she is entitled to preferential treatment in admission to college, admission to law school, securing employment, and making partner. How else can she have a chance to compete with the other 60% of the population who are just handed everything because they are white?

OH NOES! She got a job she didn't deserve based entirely on the color of her skin and now she's upset that she has been replaced with someone who is probably better qualified!

Cry me a freakin' river.

30, I think most of us assume PE is a bored 2L struggling to keep awake during his summer school redo of Evidence.

Take a chill pill.

35,

I think you have a good attitude. And you're right, as a white male I am discriminated against all the time. It is as American as apple pie. A young black girl shouted at me on the subway steps because I was walking on the right side and did not move for her to walk on the wrong side. "Ladies first, honkey" was what she screamed at me.

i agree, PE is hilarious, and the only reason why i read the comments is to look for his.

Did anybody ask Jennifer Connelly for an opinion?

Squisha squisha

A discrimination suit was also recently filed by a Muslim attorney against Foley & Lardner - Chicago, that one with "better" allegations. Why no coverage of that, ATL?

46, if getting shouted at by a random subway rider means that I get 12 extra deemed points on the LSAT and a job at Covington with a C average from GULC, then sign me up please.

Haha. Awesome. She basically freely admits the only reason she was hired in the first place was the color of her skin.

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Irregardless of whether or not she gets past a MTD, this case is interesting.

Texas discriminates against skinny people.

Help! I am a biglaw SA, and one of the junior associates here keeps calling everyone a "big tuna". I would like to know what this is about (sounds like it could be workplace-inappropriate), but am embarassed to ask anyone what it means. Any help is welcome since I am clueless.

It's a reference from "The Office" and is not necessarily inappropriate, albeit stupid.

@56 It's a reference from "The Office" and is not necessarily inappropriate, albeit stupid.

54

"Irregardless"

Are you from New Jersey?

21- because Mayer Brown hasn't removed it yet...

Also, I am not entirely sure I understand Paragraph 17 of the complaint, where she alleges that hiring someone from an in house position at a large bank into the group is tantamount to "commercial bribery." Uh, last time I checked, that was called rain making. I mean, that's how the industry works and that is a way that firms secure business. It's no different than having someone from the firm go in house and refer work back.

should i stop calling people big tuna?
i thought it was funny :(

Everybody is getting fired. But only certain minorities get to sue.

The best way to stop racism is to stop racism.

End affirmative action!

Asslobster to 190 a pound!

Can I sue my firm if my Muslim secretary refuses to allow me to pound her in the ass?

56: Report the individual to HR immediately. Ask questions later.

@59 - I am from Boston.

I agree. Outing ATL characters would be most unfortunate.

Fortunately for me, the only people trying to figure out my identity are partners at Thompson Hine. If they do twice as good a job at figuring out my identity as they do at managing their lawfirm, I figure I only have about 30 years or so before they figure out who I am.

(note to the partners - no clever close today... just want to let you know that if I could do it without giving up my location, I'd go take a nice leisurely dump in the trash can in your office. A juvenile way to express my anger? Yes. Idea puts a big smile on my face? Hell yes)

I really think she should pursue a promissory estoppel claim

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50, that Muslim lawyer is a friend and former colleague of mine. This case has been going on for a while, though; last December the 7th Circuit (correctly, imho) reversed the trial court's MSJ in favor of Foley.

Oh, great... I anyone surprised by this lawsuit? Handout denied!

I can see her inner dialog now:

Boss: "Your fired."
Yvette(Y): Oh, you did not just go there (head twitching like Beyonce)
Y: How dare you? You know I have the privilege of skin around here. Well, its ok, by the time I finish this inner dialog, I will file an aff. action lawsuit after I call up Obama for some back up from Eric Holder. On live the Planet of the Apes (check out direct TV commercial - perfect)!

Asslobster to 190 per pound!

Muslims

I used to work with Frank in Chicago, and it would surprise me to find out that he discriminated based on race. Like the rest of the MB Chicago real estate group, he was mostly concerned with avoiding making partners at all costs (as soon as he became one) and keeping as big a piece as possible of a shrinking pie while trying to charge big firm rates for increasingly standardized and commodified real estate work. I believe the group told him that he had to move down to Charlotte to make partner. It's also not uncommon at Mayer Brown in any office for an associate to be promised partnership but to never have it materialize. Most of those guys are snakes. That said, when I was there I never saw any race-based discrimination.

36 -- Nor at Sutherland.

I'm surprised Mayer Brown put photos of its associates on their internet site. Most firms try to avoid that, for obvious, creepy stalker reasons.

That having been said, there's some talent in the MB Charlotte office.

I’m not sure what she is trying to accomplish with paragraph 15. Is she simultaneously admitting that she was hired based on her race, and asserting that she was fired based on her race? That doesn’t make sense. If the firm was so committed to some bean-counting notion of ‘diversity’ that they would hire her sub-par ass simply by virtue of her skin tone, then they wouldn’t turn around and fire her for having teh negroness.

Don’t get me wrong; diversity is important. Way more important than basic competency and the ability to perform the function that clients are paying you large amounts of money to do. And, as we all know, true diversity is only achieved when people look different.

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You know what, f*ck PE. I've had enough of his sh*t. Everyone here should know that Partner Emeritus is . . .

(You have 10 minutes to out recant your schtick, douchbag and apologize for standing me up. Ten minutes or I go public first with your shitty law school. Then with the journal you staff. Then with you 1L section last year. Then with your first name. Then with your last name.) Dont f*ck with me.

Blackmailing 30

I am scared of and hate people different from myself. Everything I have received is due to me being the "best candidate" (because there is always one person that is objectively "best" for a given position) for whatever it was I received.

If you are different from me, you got it on the basis of that difference.

References to apes and stereotypes help me to make my point in a way that appeals to others and causes me to be viewed as main stream.

I am making a valuable contribution to discourse on this topic that advances my goals.

*waiting for overwhelming electoral success to arrive in 3, 2, 1...*

59, how did you know? Can you see my accent in my writing? Irregardless, you have great powers of perception.

- 54

70 = Douchebag.

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Indeed, 80, it appears you are blackmailing PE.

One hopes you don't intend to actually practice law and therefore need to pass a character and fitness evaluation...

Free advice - explicitly stating you are blackmailing someone makes it pretty obvious you are blackmailing them. Good luck with that.

I hope you aren't really this stupid.

*ready to gawk at car wreck unfolding before our eyes*

What is a chalupa? Do only Latina's have them?

62, that's right.

For the love of god - can anybody posting on here actually write a complete fucking sentence that isn't riddled with typos?!?

30/80, nobody gives a crap who PE is, but if you're going to take it upon yourself to "out" him (or her), at least proofread your threats before you post them. They will seem more ominous and, um, credible if written that way.

70 = Partner at Mayer Brown.

There's no way 80/30 is retarded enough to blackmail someone on a public legal blog.

That tool will chicken out and slink off having done nothing.

Count on it.

85: In addition, 80 is also impersonating me.

--30 (i.e., person who knows PE but would never blackmail him)

Just a thought... does her complaint have a claim for promissory estoppel in it? Perhaps under the Restatement?

Per post 91, the utterly predictable slinking off of the tool begins. In fact, slinking off so fast I nearly missed the opportunity to call it out.

Maybe 80 and 30 are different people; in any event, nobody gives a crap who PE is.

-90

85 = stupid

To me this is a perfect example of why diversity for the sake of diversity is retarded. You hire someone with terrible credentials just to be 'diverse' and then when the economy turns and you have to cut the dead weight, you have to deal with a lawsuit. This assumption is based on her own admission that her color was the only reason she was hired.

I mean she's a freaking real estate associate in this economy. Did she really expect to keep her job just b/c she's black if there are more talented people?

What a disgrace and embarrasment to the elite minority attorneys that earn their keep.

70 = Shitbag partner at MB.

Your right. It was all a spoof. Blackmail cancelled. I have no personal knowledge of PE. Just bored.

No longer blackmailing 30.

85 = correct.

Blackmail = frowned upon in our profession (even frivolous juvenile blackmail)

But, if 85 is so stupid and wrong, then we'll soon see our blackmailer follow through.

The other option is to slink off impotently having done nothing. That is what will happen.

I know who #30/80 is.

If two asslobsters are not placed in my account by lunchtime, I will proceed to eat something else.

Bitches.

21-uh...because she is a plaintiff and state court is where she would rather be?

85 = we todd did

RA,

The answer is to find a like minded associate in each Thompson Hine office and organize it so that you each drop a deuce in a partner's office the same evening. That way, there's no tip off to which office you're at!

Sounds like she's "qualified" to be a Hartford, Connecticut fireman.

http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2008/12/15/7th-circuit-lets-ex-foley-associate-go-forward-with-discrimination-suit/

85 = correct in his comment, but dumb enough to fall for troll bait and think it was necessary to explain the obvious.

I know this is a tabloid, and stupidity is entertaining. But ATL is furthering an unfounded reactionary hysteria when it keeps waving around these batshit crazy discrimination complaints because, (1) 99% of BigLaw minority lawyers work like fiends at the opportunities they get and then move on when their time is up like the 90% of other associates who dont make partner where they start, and (2) there is actual discrimination and it sometimes result in legitimate, literate compalints being filed.

http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2008/12/15/7th-circuit-lets-ex-foley-associate-go-forward-with-discrimination-suit/

I found out over the weekend who PE is. He is a partner who is being put out to pasture in a V25 firm. His old firm, R&W, was absorbed by his current firm and he is able to get away with being obnoxious and overbearing as a result of his client roster. I hear he will be retiring for good at the end of the year. Btw, I am not going to out him as I value my career and although he is an old coot, the man has some impressive connections that can destroy careers.

Recently I watched "Saving Private Ryan." When the movie ended, I tearfully turned to my wife and said, "they really were the greatest generation." My wife asked whether heroes like that still lived among us. "I sure hope so," I said, "because America needs a new greatest generation. I'm sure hope those men still exist."

And you know what? The more I thought about it the more I knew that great men still roam the land. Men like Frank Arado, who I first met when he used emergency CPR to save my granddaughter's puppy, Muttonchops. Muttonchops is all grown up now, but back then he was just the cutest little 6-month lab puppy you had ever seen. He got something in his throat -- you know how playful little puppies can be -- and before you know it one thing led to another and there was Frank, taking charge, saving little Muttonchops so my granddaughter could be happy.

Now, I don't know Yvette Springs. I'm sure she loves her grandparents and I'm sure, if she has a dog, she treats it well. But when I hear the awful things she has to say about Frank, I just want to ask her one thing -- does a granddaughter's love mean nothing to you? Muttonchops can't talk, so we have to do the talking for these poor, defenseless animals. Would you rather poor little Muttonchops to lie dead? Have you no shame?

36- Correct! Paul Hastings is way more skillful in stealth-firing associates.

The news of Charlotte's demise has been greatly exaggerated, by the way.

Unless, of course, you are a carpetbagging Yankee firm trying to establish a small outpost-then you're f*cked (and rightly so).

Well, she can have her lawsuit posted on fightbiglaw.com.

No. 54 -- no such word as "irregardless!"

Muslims are people too.

106,

I think you are absolutely correct, except for one thing - this particular suit is too early in the process for us to know whether it is bat-shit crazy or not (agree the complaint isn't a work of art, but discovery is where we find out whether this claim is BS or not).

I think ATL furthers that hysteria by hyping a complaint at a stage too early to know whether it is BS or not.

Not saying this one is valid/meritorious, just that it's too early to know.

Aside from that, I think your points (1) and (2) are excellent points that aren't made on ATL nearly often enough.

54-

"IRREGARDLESS" IS NOT A WORD.

Thanks.

71-

Is the former associate at Foley Chicago "R.R."? If so, she was a friend of mine, too.

- Curious former Foley associate.

85 was parodying 30 without any knowledge of PE. IN fact, 85 likes PE's schtick a great deal, but thought that 30 ought to be pardied. The joke was in bad taste given the respect I have for PE.

Keep on trucking PE. I apologize for any discomfort I may have caused you.

85, not 30.

117,

Irregardless of that fact, I think 54 makes a good point.

116 - the wall street journal law blog link discloses the name of the associate.

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80 was parodying 30 without any knowledge of PE. IN fact, 85 likes PE's schtick a great deal, but thought that 30 ought to be pardied. The joke was in bad taste given the respect I have for PE.

I do not condone any form of internet outing and my post was intended to be a more obvious parody.

Keep on trucking PE. I apologize for any discomfort I may have caused you.

80, not 30.

Slink Slink Slink

71-

I figured out who the former Foley associate is in the lawsuit. Please ignore my question.

-116

113 and 115, check it. Booyakasha!!!

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/irregardless

discrimination complaints under federal law can always be fied in state courts (although D could remove to a proper fed court). state courts are courts of general jurisdiction and can therefore hear just about any cases with a few very limited exceptions reserved to the feds (i.e. bankruptcy cases, cases between states, etc). irregardless of the purpose of this blog to entertain, sometimes it can be used to spread knowledge to 21 and for my bar review.

wtf, "commercial bribery?"

a former in-house attorney was hired by a firm in part because they hoped he could bring in business? and he worked at the single most important company in the city? call the police! commercial bribery!!!

98 -

or, it could have been a joke? maybe? it didn't seem just a little bit weird to you? just a little?

85 + 98 = stupid

This suit makes me happy. Partners do the dumbest things and make the dumbest comments; thanks to email lots of the shit gets documented. I love documented shit and hope all her documented shit gets published on here. Some day I too will find the strength to sue and make a handful of partners rue the day photocopiers were invented. I'll dribble out only one scandalous document per day for a nice slow burn.

What I find most interesting is the racial animus on here. This woman made a complaint. I'm not sure that anyone on here can assess the merits of it, but now we're randomly lambasting diversity efforts. Sounds like a lot of folks have an axe to grind about this issue. Did it occur to many of the people complaining about diversity that the existing, mostly white & male networks are part of the reason why there is little diversity. Sigh . . . .

Motherf*ck DRE, motherf*ck SNOOP, motherf*ck MAYER BROWN, yo and here come my left blow!

@124 - did you even read the entry? there is no definition; rather, the entry simply states that the word is "Nonstandard." It then continues: "Irregardless is a word that many mistakenly believe to be correct usage in formal style, when in fact it is used chiefly in nonstandard speech or casual writing."

Put simply, "irregardless" is not a real word. Stick to "regardless."

A lot of corporations now require law firms to fill out demographic profiles of attorneys and support staff (with titles). If minorities are clusterd in the mail room and file room jobs, a firm is "low" in multicultural rankings. That low ranking may hurt the firm's business prospects.

If the associate was hired mostly to improve demographics and her recruitment included some grandiose promises of partnership, etc. it would be nice to see the exposure.

Dammed if you do. Dammed if you don't.

I concur with 95.

She was hired because of her race.
She was fired because it wasn't worth it anymore — not because of race.

If I have white, black, asian, indian, or whatever associate who turns in great work and bills a lot hours, then they are keeping their fucking job.

But if I have deadweight associate in a deadweight practice group, they are fucking out of here — regardless of their color.

I FUCKING HATE THE RACE CARD. I HOPE THEY DO NOT SETTLE.

AND YES THIS IS EMBARRASSING TO COMPETENT MINORITIES.

The only solution is to hire based on merit alone.

And on a side note, what a poorly drafted complaint.

Dammed if you do. Dammed if you don't.

131,

Irregardless of the points you make, it is a wonderful word.

It ain't worth getting upset about, just work thru your anger.

Dammed if you do. Dammed if you don't.

Irregardless of whether you think "irregardless" is a word or not, it is a word. Just because it means the same thing as regardless, doesn't make it less of a word.

131, irregardless of your snobbery, I will continue to use my favorite word in the dictionary.

I just love that all of the irregardless fans came out of the woodwork! Unite, my brothers and sisters in arms (136 & 139)

~138

140,

Hell yeah!

When it comes to words, irregardless is def!

I've already about this, the name is Yolanda, not Venus. And it is a staff attorney complaining about too many african american staff attorneys, and not enough associates, instead of too many african american associates and not enough partners. If I remember correctly the problem was fixed by the firm getting rid of the staff attorneys so as to return the balance to norm.

well that should encourage firms to hire more minorities and women......

"Springs is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of Duke Law School, is proficient in Spanish, and has eight years of finance and regulatory experience.

130 FTW

Dre Day only made Eazy's Pay Day!

Mayor Brown also discriminates against Orcs.

Lok Tar!

* tries to join lawsuit *

Mayor Brown also discriminates against Orcs.

Lok Tar!

* tries to join lawsuit *

There is a foreign labor pool of literally thousands of talented, educated Indians, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Europeans that would gladly work in a U.S. law firm without complaint. That they are competent is in evidence in what could be described as a test case for removing government restrictions on the U.S. labor market: the relatively large number of foreign attorneys that work in firms on H1B immigration work visas.

The various complaints here by U.S. lawyers about their industry demonstrates that it is the U.S.-born lawyers who are not a good fit and who should be in other sectors of the economy.

Zug Zug

Foley's conduct in that case is horrible. Those partners sound like fantastic asshats to work for.

MB is and has always been a country club type of place. That racism influences hiring and firing there should not come as a huge surprise. Is there any exception in the world of biglaw? Doubtful.

Plaintiff's employment lawyers are brave souls, in my opinion-- I bet 75% of their lawsuits are dismissed on MSJ. If I had to guess, she could probably settle something like this for 5 to 15 grand before they have to do a whole lot of discovery and fight the MSJ.

Anyone with experience in this kind of litigation care to comment?

/plaintiff's lawyer with a mild interest in Title VII

Actually 134, if you think about it, the solution is never to hire people who can file discrimination suits in the first place when you can avoid it - when you hire white, straight males, there's one very expensive business and legal problem solved.

153, but if you only hire white men, who will you blame everything on?

It's time to out Partner Emeritus: PE is a laid off staff attorney from Skadden Arps. He's about 45, unmarried, balding, and lives in a closet apartment in Queens.

I'll never forget the time we were working late on a doc review project and he offered to suck my cock if I would let him go home and get some sleep after working 20 hours straight. You could tell he had a lot of experience from the way he caressed my meat with his tongue. Just as I was about to blow it, I decided to pull out, spin him around, rip down his pants, spit on his tight asshole to lube it up and plunge my cock so deep into him that I could feel his tonsils on my tip. He asked me to give it to him as hard as I could. He hadn't been with anybody in years. I jerked him off while I pounded his ass with everything I had. We actually came together at the same time and basked in the glow in the doc room before I told to clean up and get back to work until we were finished with the batch of forms we were working on. You don't get to go home early just for blowing a senior associate. The layoff announcement came the next day.

It's time to out Partner Emeritus: PE is a laid off staff attorney from Skadden Arps. He's about 45, unmarried, balding, and lives in a closet apartment in Queens.

I'll never forget the time we were working late on a doc review project and he offered to suck my cock if I would let him go home and get some sleep after working 20 hours straight. You could tell he had a lot of experience from the way he caressed my meat with his tongue. Just as I was about to blow it, I decided to pull out, spin him around, rip down his pants, spit on his tight asshole to lube it up and plunge my cock so deep into him that I could feel his tonsils on my tip. He asked me to give it to him as hard as I could. He hadn't been with anybody in years. I jerked him off while I pounded his ass with everything I had. We actually came together at the same time and basked in the glow in the doc room before I told to clean up and get back to work until we were finished with the batch of forms we were working on. You don't get to go home early just for blowing a senior associate. The layoff announcement came the next day.

151 - Interesting, as Foley also has a reputation as being extremely old-line and country club.

anyone else realize that she's complaining that her position was filled by two first years? check the MB website.

9 - are you an ex-DLA staffer? Because this story is much like mine and others who spoke to HR about some issues and were retaliated against. There is a pattern and even if you signed your agreement, you may have a claim because of new information. As more of us have been let go and talk, the same HR person and supervisor keep turning up central to the story. They inappropriately shared information. If you are who I think you are, I will call your cell, hope it is the same.

Wow - the repressed/closeted gay porn posters are getting more and more boisterous. 155/156, why don't you go try the real thing? You know you want to.

152 -

You're generally right about plaintiff-side employment lawyers. Most of them are solos or smallfirm lawyers who make about as much as you're average personal injury lawyer. I worked for one such solo, and while he seemed to enjoy his work, he settled most cases and lost a lot on MSJ. Even when he got a huge jury verdict once, the 3rd Circuit reversed it on appeal. Many federal judges (excluding the 9th Circuit) are pretty hostile towards Title VII litigation.

The firms that do the big class actions make a shit ton of money though. I think a lot of those small law shops are just praying for that one case that could make them millionaires. (check out the tobacco litigation in the early 90's)

160:
Not closeted. Have tried it. Loved it.
-155/156

152: Is that why many let the EEOC do the initial legwork?

Why aren't there more whites in the mailroom at my firm? Talk about discrimination...

It just goes to show that affirmative action is a glowingly stupid policy.

I wonder whether Yvette would have worked harder in law school, and been a more competent attorney - and still be working at MB - if she had not known that she would always be able to rely on her race to get her in the door.

It's sad actually. Affirmative action is the last vestige of slavery: keeping the black man down by propping him up.

Isn't her husband awaiting a federal prison term for mortgage fraud? Birds of a feather....

http://charlotte.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/2009/ce040109.htm

fucking cash-chuckers

We have automatically assumed that her white replacement was qualified. Why? And why have we not extended that same assumption to the black plaintiff? Hmmm... makes you wonder. I love how complaints about racial discrimination get whites so riled up and angry. And yet all the rebuttals assume that she was not qualified because she is black. Just because she was hired for the sake of diversity doesn't mean she wasn't qualified. If it were up to the partner he would have probably hired a less qualified white over ANY form of black (whether qualified or not) which he later did when he hired a white replacement (which ironically we have assumed was qualified).

Earth to 168. We assume she was not qualified b/c of affirmative action.

WAKE UP!

Oh, the satisfaction of bashing the minority attorney! Must make a lot of you feel smug and superior..........which I guess is now really important given how many of you have wasted three years and blown an excess of six figures into what is now a dying profession.

Non-lawyer

Is there anything worse in America's legal system than law suits like this? This woman is actually suing for being fired as a real estate lawyer in 2008 Charlotte? Seriously? And there are people on this site defending this? Have you heard about the real estate market in 2008? Have you heard about it especially in Charlotte?

Wow ... I wonder if the other 30+ lawyers or more laid of by this firm will also sue? Can an asian lawyer who had bad timing in chosing a career in real estate law sue? Can the thousands of grads of 2009 who worked hard all of thier lives and succeeded dispite not recieving any handouts sue?

No they can't. This is what happens to a great country when the far left grabs a hold of it. Nuisance lawsuits after someone --- who is an admitted affirmative action hire -- gets fired like thousands of others during the great depression.

Wow -- and people are actually defending here?

- A lawyer

yet another reason why firms shouldn't hire black women.

172,
Given how poorly many law firms are doing nowadays, and given who's been running them, it doesn't seem that black women are the problem, now does it?

/tar 146, 147
/salute
/cheer

Blood and Thunder!

who the hell is her attorney? that is one of the most poorly drafted complaints i've ever seen.

what a joke.

who the hell is her attorney? that is one of the most poorly drafted complaints i've ever seen.

what a joke.

who the hell is her attorney? that is one of the most poorly drafted complaints i've ever seen.

what a joke.

168,

"We have automatically assumed that her white replacement was qualified. Why? And why have we not extended that same assumption to the black plaintiff? Hmmm... makes you wonder. "

Who assumed that? I assume she got hired, in part, due to her race--all biglaw firms want to hire minority lawyers with a good resume. (Yes, *all*.) If they can also do the work, that makes them associate gold. And if they are profitable, then those minority associates are often safer in their job than plenty of income partners.

For her to get canned likely meant something was up that made her continued employment more costly than the possible discrimination suit. I take that to mean she was lazy, lousy, hard to work with, or simply too unprofitable relative to other options.

Firms fire profitable white men lawyers with great resumes faster than unprofitable black female lawyers with decent resumes. Seen it plenty of times.

This calls to mind Monica Youn's excellent piece at Slate the other day. http://www.slate.com/id/2219754/

Minority employees are asked to perform duties above and beyond what's expected of white employees.

"Minority employees are asked to perform duties above and beyond what's expected of white employees."

Yeah, like not having to bear the same hiring criteria and performance standards.

178-
You raise some interesting points. Business is business. Are law firms legally required to hire a certain number of minority candidates? Or just make an attempt? I am pretty sure "diversity initiatives" are self imposed and only instilled to placate some corporate clients (who have minority GC's) so depending on the clients, diversity is just icing on the cake. I don't think it greatly impacts firm business if firms fail to meet these goals (just kind of makes them look bad). Profits matter most at any corporation and I highly doubt that a firm would fire a profitable white male over a not so profitable black associate just for the sake of image. Otherwise law firms would be all black instead of all white. They would just fire the black associate and hope to God they found someone else later on down the line. Also contrary to popular belief, firms know that most black associates are still lawyers foremost and like have pride. They are not likely to sue because it is career suicide, stressful, and taboo. I mean I assume she still wants to work somewhere. If I were a white partner and I had to fire someone I would fire a black associate over a white associate any day (all else being equal) because the white associate laughs at my jokes, listens to U2, and runs marathons, etc. just like me. I am keeping the guy who fits in and can carry the firm forward in my image. It isn't right but it is human.

178-
You raise some interesting points. Business is business. Are law firms legally required to hire a certain number of minority candidates? Or just make an attempt? I am pretty sure "diversity initiatives" are self imposed and only instilled to placate some corporate clients (who have minority GC's) so depending on the clients, diversity is just icing on the cake. I don't think it greatly impacts firm business if firms fail to meet these goals (just kind of makes them look bad). Profits matter most at any corporation and I highly doubt that a firm would fire a profitable white male over a not so profitable black associate just for the sake of image. Otherwise law firms would be all black instead of all white. They would just fire the black associate and hope to God they found someone else later on down the line. Also contrary to popular belief, firms know that most black associates are still lawyers foremost and like have pride. They are not likely to sue because it is career suicide, stressful, and taboo. I mean I assume she still wants to work somewhere. If I were a white partner and I had to fire someone I would fire a black associate over a white associate any day (all else being equal) because the white associate laughs at my jokes, listens to U2, and runs marathons, etc. just like me. I am keeping the guy who fits in and can carry the firm forward in my image. It isn't right but it is human.

178-
You raise some interesting points. Business is business. Are law firms legally required to hire a certain number of minority candidates? Or just make an attempt? I am pretty sure "diversity initiatives" are self imposed and only instilled to placate some corporate clients (who have minority GC's) so depending on the clients, diversity is just icing on the cake. I don't think it greatly impacts firm business if firms fail to meet these goals (just kind of makes them look bad). Profits matter most at any corporation and I highly doubt that a firm would fire a profitable white male over a not so profitable black associate just for the sake of image. Otherwise law firms would be all black instead of all white. They would just fire the black associate and hope to God they found someone else later on down the line. Also contrary to popular belief, firms know that most black associates are still lawyers foremost and like have pride. They are not likely to sue because it is career suicide, stressful, and taboo. I mean I assume she still wants to work somewhere. If I were a white partner and I had to fire someone I would fire a black associate over a white associate any day (all else being equal) because the white associate laughs at my jokes, listens to U2, and runs marathons, etc. just like me. I am keeping the guy who fits in and can carry the firm forward in my image. It isn't right but it is human.

179--I read that article. Big deal--diversity committee meetings? Yes, corporate America certainly demands a lot more of its minorities.

I'd happily go to and give a speech at a diversity committee meeting if they had the slightest desire to hear from first generation Irish Americans from working class backgrounds who were the first in their family to go to college. But there's not much interest--guess I'm just part of the white male power structure, regardless of the fact that my background is a lot more modest than most of the minority attorneys I know..