Biglaw

If Only The #MeToo Movement Had Existed When This Biglaw Associate Was Sexually Assaulted At Her Firm

He closed the door, pushed her up against a wall, and tried to kiss her and put his tongue in her mouth.

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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. Today, we have a story from a woman who wishes that the #MeToo movement had existed when she was sexually assaulted as an associate at her Biglaw firm. 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.

This is not a new story as you know. The “Me Too” movement is long overdue. I graduated from law school in 1978 and have been practicing law in California for 40 years. My law school class was about 30% women. As a first-year law student, I got a summer associate position at a large and prestigious law firm in Los Angeles. They had a very well-established summer program with law students from all over the U.S. Each summer intern was assigned to a “reader” who was generally a mid- to senior-level associate. That reader would read all of the intern’s written work and report back to the hiring committee at the end of the summer about the quality of the intern’s work.

My “reader” was a mid-level associate who was married. I was single. One day when we were in my office, he closed the door and pushed me up against a wall in the office and tried to kiss me and put his tongue in my mouth. I pushed him away and he left the office. I was so upset because he had power over me and whether I would get a permanent job offer. I did not report it to any of the partners because I was afraid of retaliation. Instead, I told a friend from my law school who was also a summer intern at the same firm, but was a year ahead of me. He in turn went to a partner in the firm and reported it. I was reassigned to a different reader, and later was offered a position with the law firm, where I remained for three years following law school. Many years later, that “reader” apologized to me for his behavior.

With so much publicity in the news about powerful men finally being held to account for their misbehavior, I was curious about what had happened to my tormentor. It turns out that he is now a partner in a large white-shoe NYC law firm, and ironically was previously a prosecutor at the USAO specializing in white-collar crime. He now defends large companies and their principals. I have recently thought about sending him an email saying simply, “Remember me? #MeToo.” I haven’t done it because I am so far past that event and don’t want to expend the negative energy.

I have told my daughters about this and what I expect of them when they enter the workforce. They are in college now. I am heartened by the advice that one of their high school teachers gave them (a male teacher) when he told them to always defend themselves, to never be victims, and to always carry a “badass” in their back pockets.

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.

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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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