Sexual Harassment, Women's Issues

What Happens When Partners Sexually Harass Summer Associates And Interns?

Incidents like this continue to go unreported because of the power struggle that's involved.

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Welcome back to The Pink Ghetto, a series where we take a look at some of the most appalling stories from one of the most sexist industries in the world: the legal profession. Countless tales of sexual harassment have emerged in the days and weeks since the Harvey Weinstein scandal was brought to light, and as women in this industry know all too well, a law degree will not insulate you from sexual harassment. Today, we’ll take a look at stories from women who faced intense sexual harassment during their nascent careers as lawyers, at firms big and small. These are real emails that we’ve received from real readers.

When you see things like this happening, say something. Together, we can inspire the change necessary to stop this disturbing behavior from being so prevalent in the law. We owe it to ourselves and to future generations of women in the law.

My Harvey. Is there a woman out there who doesn’t have a Harvey Weinstein in her life? I’ve had several, but my Biglaw Harvey stands out. I was a summer associate at a large, highly respected Boston firm in the early 1990s. I was 24 years old. The economy was headed toward a recession, and my Harvey gave me a steady stream of work. I was grateful. My Harvey called me on a daily basis, asking me how I was doing, was I enjoying the firm, etc. My Harvey commented on my looks. He told me he knew I would do well once I came back to the firm as a full time associate. He told me I had what it takes to make it in the law firm world. He was excited that we would be colleagues. I brushed off my Harvey’s intense focus on me and told my office mate that I must have reminded him of his daughter. But my Harvey kept calling. Then my Harvey started asking me out to lunch; I went thinking I needed to go along to keep getting assignments. At lunch, my Harvey put his arm around me and asked me out to dinner. This happened multiple times. I always found a reason to say no and my Harvey told me he was very disappointed; I should really consider. He would keep giving me work. I finally told him that this had to stop and that I would not go out with him. He never assaulted me. He just stopped giving me work. I later found out that he gave me a poor performance review. I didn’t get an offer at my highly respected firm, and I never reported his behavior. That’s my Harvey story.

I’ve been inspired by so many people coming out and sharing their stories. It is very important that we all come forward to emphasize the pervasiveness of this problem, not just in the legal profession, but across all fields.

When I was an intern at a small law firm, I, like many other budding lawyers, wanted to absorb as much experience as possible. So when an opportunity came up to accompany a partner to a court hearing, I jumped on it.

The hearing was scheduled at 10:00am downtown, and the partner asked me to meet him at his apartment because of the proximity of his home to the courthouse. I thought it was a little weird, but went anyway, because his rationale made sense at the time.

So I went to his apartment at 9:30am like he had asked. I expected to leave immediately to head to the court, because we all know that one must get there early. I rang the doorbell, and he answered the door with only a towel around his waist, holding a mug of coffee.

Now, sitting here right now, I would have told the 24-year-old me to run, run, run, and don’t look back. But I was shocked and confused, and I was just really worried about getting to the hearing late. He asked me to come in, and I thought he would just get dressed and leave. He asked me to wait for him in the living room while he finished up his shower. I complied. His apartment was lovely, I remembered. There was a cute note from his wife on the counter. I thought that was a good sign?

He came out of the bathroom, still in his stupid towel. He walked across the living room slowly, so that I could get a good look at his disgusting body. He asked me if I wanted a tour of the apartment. I said no, thanks, and that we really must be going. He said he wanted to show me his daughters’ room. I did not want to piss him off and went to take a peek from outside the room. I could tell that he wanted me to go inside.

I kept reminding him that we need to go. He started to look annoyed and went to get dressed. We finally left the apartment at 9:55. I could not believe it had been only 25 minutes. It felt like 5 hours.

We hailed a cab, and he still seemed pissed. I was still confused and did not know why he seemed so angry. He asked me why I came, and was it out of the goodness of my heart? I was like, what are you talking about? I wanted to go to court!

The thing is, it still did not hit me then that he had nefarious intentions. Not even when he asked me that question. I thought he was just a weirdo. Like I said above, I was very naïve and trusting, and would not know sexual harassment if someone smacked my behind with it (which actually happened a few years before this, but that’s another story). Nobody talked about this when I was younger, and I feel this is why it is so important that all of us share our stories, no matter the level of egregiousness, so that the younger generation is aware and know what to look for. It took me a long time to realize what he really wanted in that apartment.

I am glad nothing happened in that apartment. But it is sad that I remember that day in such vivid detail. Every time I hear about somebody being harassed, I am reminded of what happened that day, and it is like being victimized all over again.

Oh, the court hearing? It was some b.s. appearance to adjourn a hearing.

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Do you have a law school or law firm story you’d like to see appear in The Pink Ghetto? Email me (subject line: “The Pink Ghetto”) or find me on Twitter, @StaciZaretsky. You will be kept anonymous. Submissions are always welcome.

Staci ZaretskyStaci Zaretsky has been an editor at Above the Law since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.

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