So, I CAN'T Tell My Associate To Do More To 'Satisfy' Her Husband?

Yeesh, tell your associate to be better in bed 5 or 6 times and next thing you know they're suing you.

Nothing beats a great workplace mentor. Especially in the law, where no amount of book learning can substitute for the guidance of years of practical experience when learning the ropes. So in a sense, any experienced lawyer committed to taking a young associate under his wing — to offer advice, and yes, provide gentle constructive criticism — should be applauded.

According to a federal complaint filed Monday, Louis Eckert of Litchfield Cavo LLP was a dedicated mentor just brimming with advice to heap upon young associate Bari Klein.

Advice like, how she should “satisfy” her husband more and “treat him better.” And constructive criticism like, “you do not know what you’re doing, you are a woman.”

From Klein’s perspective, Eckert was right there to help from day one:

On the first day of employment, Plaintiff Klein went to lunch with Defendant Eckert, her supervisor, and Chris Sommer who also supervised her work. During that lunch, defendant Eckert told Plaintiff Klein not to speak with a female coworker because he claimed she was a “bitch with a loud mouth and a slut.” He also claimed he wanted to get her fired but had decided against it.

Hey, office politics, man. You’ve got to know all the players. That said, if Klein’s story is to be believed, she already had reason to doubt Eckert’s worth as a proper mentor: “he wanted to get her fired…” but didn’t? In the Game of Pretextual Firings, you win or… well, I guess we’re getting ahead of ourselves.

At another time during her employment, Defendant Eckert told Plaintiff Klein that the same female co-worker was a “slut” and was having an affair with an attorney within the firm. He indicated that he had told that attorney that he “should bang that piece of ass.” Defendant Eckert further stated the same female coworker was likely sleeping with one of the partners at Defendant LC and that was the only reason she still had a job was to prevent her from suing them.

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While each day the conversation would begin relating to work, Defendant Eckert would inevitably bring the conversation to relate to Plaintiff Klein’s personal life. Those conversations included questions about how often Plaintiff Klein had sex with her husband, how it felt to have sex in her parents’ home, why Plaintiff Klein did not have sex more often and asking if plaintiff Klein would ever cheat on her husband.

Too often, partners overlook the value of taking an interest in an employee’s personal life. The simple act of showing an interest in an associate as a person — not just a billable hour — can go a long way toward building trust and a healthy work environment. It’s about Wellness, people.

On that subject, another way to get to know your employees is to spend some time with their family.

Defendant Eckert also discussed Plaintiff Klein’s sex life with her husband and said “I feel your pain, I don’t know how you’re married to Bari.”

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As Bill Clinton taught us, “I feel your pain,” is a powerful way to establish empathy.

The complaint alleges that Eckert also gently counseled Klein on the importance of maintaining a professional work persona.

He responded that plaintiff Klein’s opinion does not matter and if she did not like it then get out of his office. Plaintiff Klein began crying. Defendant Eckert commented on the weakness of women and told her to leave if she was crying.

Apparently, Klein didn’t appreciate all this alleged great advice and asked her firm to do something about it. As Law 360 reports:

Klein regularly told the firm’s partners about Eckert’s behavior, saying she felt she was being treated differently because of her gender, but nothing was done to improve the situation, according to the complaint.

Klein had a “severe” panic attack one day in the office, but the firm did not call for an ambulance until Klein’s mother, who learned what happened, called one of the partners and demanded that her daughter be taken to the hospital.

By firing Klein only five days after she returned from her FMLA leave, it will be difficult for Litchfield Cavo to argue that the two are not connected, her attorney, Jesse Rose, told Law 360 Tuesday.

But see, it wasn’t retaliation, the firm just thought she needed more time to recover and… yeah, I can’t push this pretense any more. Klein seeks compensatory and punitive damages of an unspecified amount and Litchfield Cavo and Eckert have a pretty dismal set of allegations to overcome.

(The full complaint is available on the next page…)

Ex-Litchfield Atty Says Lunch With The Boss Was A Sex Q&A [Law360]