Biglaw

Biglaw Associate Takes On USA Gymnastics In New Lawsuit

Former Olympian turned Biglaw associate has filed suit against USA Gymnastics.

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Tasha Schwikert-Warren

Olympic Bronze medalist and current Biglaw associate, Tasha Schwikert-Warren, along with her sister, former U.S. gymnast Jordan Cobbs, filed a pair of lawsuits against USA Gymnastics and officials of the organization for fraud and racketeering earlier this week. The allegations stem from USA Gymnastics’ employment of convicted sexual predator Larry Nassar. Nassar, as you’ll recall, was sentenced to 40 – 125 years in prison for taking advantage of his position as U.S. national gymnastics team doctor by sexually abusing over 100 women and girls. In handing down the hefty sentence, the judge did not want Nassar to be a free man ever again, saying, “I’ve just signed your death warrant,” and, “You do not deserve to walk outside of a prison ever again.”

Schwikert-Warren is an associate in the real estate and construction practice group at Holland & Hart. She previously completed a clerkship in the Eighth Judicial District Court in Nevada for Judge Joanna S. Kishner and Judge Mark R. Denton. Schwikert-Warren came forward with her story of the abuse she suffered at the hands of Nassar last month, telling ABC News that she was abused more than 100 times between 2000 and 2005.

As reported by Law.com, part of the motivation for the lawsuit was legal action being taken against former USA Gymnastics officials:

On Oct. 29, Schwikert-Warren and Cobbs filed a pair of fraud and racketeering complaints against USA Gymnastics in Los Angeles Superior Court. In a press conference that same day, both women said they were motivated to tell their stories as a result of the recent arrest in Tennessee of former USA Gymnastics president Stephen Penny Jr. A Texas grand jury has indicted Penny on charges of evidence tampering in an investigation into Nassar.

The complaint alleges USA Gymnastics failed to provide a “culture of accountability and transparency” that could have stopped the reign of Nassar’s abuse.

“I am outraged at watching what’s been happening at USA Gymnastics,” Schwikert-Warren told reporters this week at a press conference in Los Angeles. “It’s like watching a perpetual circus of horribles.”

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The embattled organization has yet to respond to the lawsuits.

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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