It had a devastating effect on me. I thought people would look at me like ‘Wow, she’s a really courageous person.’ Instead, it was ‘I don’t want to be tainted by her.’
— Bonnie Porter, a former Boies Schiller & Flexner associate who sued the firm in 2002, alleging that the firm pushed women away from the partnership track. Porter claims that Boies Schiller used statements from other female attorneys to undermine her allegations, essentially forcing her into settlement for fear she’d be unable to afford to litigate the case. In 2003, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission found reason to believe that women at Boies Schiller did not receive the same treatment as men.
Porter later found a job working as an attorney at Hinkley Allen & Snyder, where she thought people treated her differently because of the suit she filed against Boies Schiller. She’s now a writer in Maine.
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Staci Zaretsky is an editor at Above the Law. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments. Follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.