Women's Issues

The Weinstein Effect: The Power Of The Sun

In a way, the legal community was lucky to get an early start on how to handle sexual harassment.

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Harvey Weinstein (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

In December, 1991, Rena Weeks filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for sexual harassment. She worked as a legal secretary at Baker & McKenzie, a law firm that, at the time, was “the world’s largest law firm.” (The firm now has dropped the “&” and was ranked third in the 2016 Am Law 100. Its website boasts that the firm had “record global revenues of $2.67 billion.”)

Six months later, Weeks escalated the battle, filing “Weeks v. Baker & McKenzie” in San Francisco Superior Court. (She worked in the Palo Alto office.) Weeks named lawyer Martin Greenstein and the firm as defendants, alleging sexual harassment at the workplace.

While many legal firms viewed Weeks as a flake, there was no question that most firms were nervous about the litigation. The trial was live on ALM’s Court TV, and there was heavy coverage from The New York Times, and others.

Wrote Jane Gross: “Martin R. Greenstein was a superstar at Baker & McKenzie, a swaggering bear of a man with a gift for attracting lucrative clients and a standard of perfection that admitted few mistakes. Rena Weeks was a neophyte legal secretary, in over her head in the firm’s intellectual property division, where she misaddressed envelopes, made typographical errors and had trouble transferring telephone calls.”

But Rena Weeks won. The jury awarded $7.1 million, which was reduced to $3.7 million during further negotiations. In 1998, the state court upheld the “landmark sexual harrassment verdict” with a 3-0 vote, wrote Harriet Chiang, the San Francisco Chronicle’s legal affairs writer.

In a way, the legal community was lucky to get an early start on how to handle sexual harassment. But if we pulled 12 women from any large law firm, would you be surprised to find at least one women who is still dealing with these issues?

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(Note: I was the editor of The Price of Harassment: Weeks v. Baker & McKenzie, American Lawyer Media Books.)

The Weinstein Effect

Flash forward to 2017, as Harvey Weinstein is front and center, as many women are coming forward to accuse him for sexual harassment. The allegations grew quickly, including sexual harassment, rape, and assaults. (In case you have been off-grid, Weinstein, 65, had been a producer and film executive. He and his brother had co-founded Miramax and were co-chairmen of The Weinstein Company.)

Yes, the Bill Cosby incidents were very important. But now, it’s an avalanche that is exploding secrets and shining light and truth. This time is different, because the women (and men) are standing up and owning their experiences — both the predators and the victims.

A few examples of the many articles on this topic:

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• The New York Times: “After Weinstein: A List of Men Accures of Sexual Misconduct and the Fallout of Each.”
• More New York Times articles about Harvey Weinstein
• NBC:  “Since Weinstein, Here’s a Growing List of Men Accused of Sexual Misconduct,” by Dan Corey.

Above The Law
• “The Sexual Harassment Dilemma,” by Toni Messina.
• “Harvey Weinstein And The Cost of Silance,” by James Goodnow.
• “Can Harvey Weinstein Be Successfully Sued? (1 & 2) by Evan Gibbs.
• “Please Just Fire The Harvey Weinsteins Of The World Already,” by Beth Robinson.

Learn More

Here are some CLE options and other information.

• Defense Association of New York:  “Sexual Harassment and Employment Discrimination – Understanding and Preventing Legal Exposures.” Nov. 15, 2017, 5:30 p.m.- 7:30 p.m. The New York State Insurance Fund, 199 Church Street, New York, NY 10007. Email: danyexecdir@gmail.com.

• Esquire CLE: “Sexual Harrassment in the Workplace,” $19.99

• ABA Criminal Justice Section Task Force on College Due Process Rights and Victim Protections: June 2017.

• ABA Internal Corporate Investigations (Section of Litigation): “Experts see flaws in how colleges handle sexual assault allegations.”

• Criminal Justice: “While We’re Talking About Rape,” by Bennett Capers.

Preaching What I Write

Many years ago, I headed to the University of Minnesota for graduate school. We were baby boomers: yes, there was sex, drugs, and rock and roll — but we also were challenging the Vietnam war and racial segregation.

I reported to a professor who determined my success or failure. A group of teachers and students went to a conference in another state. On the first morning, several students were chatting when the professor walked toward us with his eyes glaring at me. Then he put his hands on my breasts, and said loudly, “Good morning Monica, and how are we?” I stepped back and tried to make a joke, I was mortified. The guys were stunned. But our careers depended on him, so none of us complained. That was just one of the professor’s humiliating tactics over the next few months. (I don’t remember his name and couldn’t find it.)

Fortunately, I was spending a lot of time at the Minnesota Daily, covering rock and roll. I confided to my mentor, Donald Gillmor, a professor at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Within days, he quietly got me transferred to the J School. Gillmor changed my life — and we remained friends until his death in 2013.

monica-bayMonica Bay is a Fellow at CodeX: The Stanford Center for Legal Informatics and a freelance writer for Above The Law and other media. She co-hosts Law Technology Now (Legal Talk Network) and is a member of the California Bar. Monica can frequently be found at Yankee Stadium. Email: monicabay1@gmail.com. Twitter: @MonicaBay.

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