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Biglaw Partner Nominated For Ambassador Role Faced Sexual Harassment Allegations At His Former Firm

Given the White House's vetting process and the public nature of the claims, this was a known issue before the nomination.

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Adrian Zuckerman is a real estate partner at Seyfarth Shaw who’s been nominated by Donald Trump to be the U.S. Ambassador to Romania. With this additional publicity, Zuckerman’s past is now being looked into, and according to a report from the New York Law Journal, he’s been sued over allegations of sexual harassment.

Back in 2008, when Zuckerman was a partner at Lowenstein Sandler, he, along with his then firm, faced a lawsuit by his former secretary, Jamie Ferrauiola, for sexual harassment. According to reports, the lawsuit included allegations that Ferrauiola was forced to view pictures of semi-nude women, that Zuckerman spoke to her in graphic terms, and he repeatedly asked her out:

Ferrauiola claimed that after she was hired at Lowenstein to work as Zuckerman’s secretary, he frequently asked if she wanted to meet him for dinner and would invite her to have drinks with him during working hours.

According to the suit, he would force her to have closed-door meetings, where he would show her pictures and screen savers of semi-nude women and update her on his love life. She alleged he spoke about his sex life in graphic detail and asked for dating advice.

She also claims she was humiliated by remarks that Zuckerman made to others in the office, including that she “was bearing Zuckerman’s child.” Her suit references a vulgar term that Zuckerman allegedly made toward Ferrauiola and claims Zuckerman “frequently made sexual gestures” when referring to women in the office and spoke about “big breasted women.”

Within in year of the case being filed, it was settled for an undisclosed amount.

Despite the import sexual harassment claims have recently received, a source says that given the White House’s vetting process and the public nature of the claims, this was a known issue before Zuckerman’s nomination was announced:

An attorney familiar with the Trump administration’s nominations process said any nominee facing Senate confirmation must go through a two-track clearance process, including an ethics analysis and a deep investigation of the person’s fitness for the position. The latter would include past conduct and allegations, such as lawsuits, said the attorney. Harassment issues could be disqualifying, but allegations are not presumed to be true, the attorney added.

“The fact that this nomination was announced means this analysis was done and he survived,” the attorney said.

Asked about the case, Lowenstein offered this:

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In a statement this week, Lowenstein said the firm “does not comment on personnel or legal matters, however, the firm takes pride in promoting a culture of respect for all of its employees, that is positive, fair and free from intimidation of any kind.”

While Ferrauiola’s attorney in the matter said:

Ferrauiola could not be reached for comment. Albert Adam Breud, who represented Ferrauiola in the complaint, said the settlement is confidential. “The matter was resolved to the satisfaction of all parties,” said Breud, of Firestone & Breud.

Zuckerman must still be confirmed by the Senate before he becomes ambassador.

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headshotKathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, and host of The Jabot podcast. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).

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