Biglaw, Money, Women's Issues

Biglaw Partner Files Class Action Lawsuit Over 'Male-Dominated Culture'

These allegations are stunning.

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Traci Ribeiro

Traci Ribeiro

If you were the third-highest revenue generator at your law firm, you’d probably expect you’d get the bump to equity partner pretty quickly. Well, not if you’re a woman at Sedgwick, according to a recent lawsuit.

Traci Ribeiro, an insurance partner in Sedgwick’s Chicago office with an impressive book of business, joined the firm in 2011 and was promoted to non-equity partner in 2012. According to her lawsuit filed this week, she has now butted up against the firm’s glass ceiling. She believed that working hard and consistently bringing in the big bucks for the firm would mean her promotion to equity partner, but that wasn’t to be. After years of dealing with a “male-dominated culture,” she has now filed a lawsuit seeking to certify a class of women at the firm who are paid less than their male counterparts.

Yeah, buckle up folks, because the allegations in this suit are infuriating. The suit not only alleges that as one of the top three rainmakers at the firm Ribeiro was unable to crack into the ranks of equity partnership, but the unequal pay was also in the associate ranks, with women associates making up to $50,000 less than men. And when Ribeiro tried to advocate for the female associates working for her, it was… not taken well. As Law.com reports:

One female associate was being paid $50,000 less than a male counterpart despite being more productive and profitable, according to Ribeiro’s complaint. Another was underpaid by $40,000. Ribeiro said that those associates eventually earned raises and were paid similarly to their male counterparts.

At a November 2012 equity partners meeting shortly after she raised an issue over associate pay, the complaint states that Bruce Celebrezze, a fellow insurance partner at Sedgwick in San Francisco, told his colleagues that Ribeiro “needed to learn how to behave,” and suggested she receive a pay cut.

That is just… wow. I wish I had a snappier comeback, but I’m paradoxically equal parts shocked and resigned that this is what allegedly gets said behind closed doors at Biglaw firms. If true, comments like this show that while the equity partnership undoubtedly had no issue cashing in on Ribeiro’s hard work, they don’t really see her as a partner or an equal.

This isn’t the first time a female Biglaw partner has sued over allegedly discriminatory compensation practices, but this case is distinct because of the eyebrow-raising rhetoric that is alleged to go on at Sedgwick.

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The complaint further details other alleged incidents of sexism that contribute to what Ribeiro claims is a culture of discrimination. For example, at a 2013 meeting about Ribeiro’s role at the firm she was allegedly told, “Don’t worry, we’re not going to bring you out to the woodshed.” The complaint definitely takes issue with that one:

A comment like this is characteristic of the paternalistic, dismissive and gender-biased way Ribeiro has been treated by Sedgwick and would not have been said to a male attorney… Discussion of a spanking has no place in a conversation about a female’s professional prospects.

Ribeiro is still working at the firm and filed an EEOC complaint in January, which is ongoing. The complaint also notes there’s been an investigation by Seyfarth Shaw. And for its part, Sedgwick denies the allegations in the suit:

“We are confident there has been absolutely no discrimination or retaliation in the partner compensation process or otherwise, and we will defend the firm against these baseless allegations,” said [Sedgwick chair Michael] Healy.
…
“Sedgwick takes a fair, open and consensus-driven approach to partner compensation and other partnership issues, and we do not engage in or tolerate discriminatory or retaliatory conduct of any kind,” he said. “In fact, Sedgwick is proud to be widely recognized as a leader in initiating and promoting diversity in all aspects of the firm and in our communities.”

But this is a juicy lawsuit, and we’ll be following the developments closely.

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Seeking Equal Pay for Women, Sedgwick Partner Sues Her Firm [Law.com]

Earlier: Biglaw Partner Alleges Sexism Derailed Her Career In A New Lawsuit

Kathryn Rubino is an editor at Above the Law. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).

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