Biglaw

Probably Not How You Should Talk To Pregnant Associates: A Biglaw Play In Four Acts

What are they teaching associates these days?

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UPDATE: Some of the timeline below is a bit off — after you finish this story, check out this update.

Corporate deals can get chippy, but what this dustup between associates at Simpson Thacher and Freshfields really makes you wonder if transactional attorneys need to be taking fewer cues from the investment bankers on how to conduct themselves in polite society.

This exchange takes place in the Chinese market, and while one might think there are cultural differences at play, both associates involved attended U.S. law schools and the one who comes out of the gate also went to undergrad in the U.S., so they should both have a good sense of the standards of professionalism their firms expect.

Standards that, for example, don’t include emailing everyone on the deal something like this — from the Simpson associate to the Freshfields associate:

Both associates involved are women and, among friends, women are inclined to joke about “pregnancy brain.” But “among friends” carries a lot of water in that sentence. It’s not something to be blasted to everyone working a deal to undermine a rival associate.

We’re not publishing the associates’ names because we don’t know if there’s an innocent explanation for these emails — a friendly tweaking gone wrong perhaps. That said, “Don’t let your pride get in the way of this deal” certainly doesn’t sound friendly.

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For her part, the Freshfields associate responds (and we think this is a direct response — the timeline on the emails is a little hard to follow):

Well, that’s a lot better than “You shut your goddamned mouth before I come down there and fuckstart your head” which is the response I’d have expected from most of my female colleagues over the years if someone had pulled this. Still, this would have been a good time to can the snark and respond with more shocked indignance. This associate hasn’t done anything wrong, but certainly by taking the bait, she’s escalated the fight.

And, since she didn’t slam the brakes on this, here’s what she gets back from Simpson:

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The emails cut off here, probably because the Simpson associate got slapped unconscious by a pregnant lady.

Thankfully, at the end of this chain, a Freshfields partner steps into the situation to put a stop to it.

With so many people on this chain, it’s encouraging that someone took the helm here before it got any worse. Sometimes associates aren’t in the best position to stand up for themselves — they have limited authority and a real concern that they could undermine the deals they’re working on. That’s why addressing discrimination has to be everyone’s job.

HeadshotJoe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news.

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