Jones Day Gender Discrimination Case Spreads To New York

A former New York associate comes forward.

The lawsuit filed by former Jones Day associates just keeps on getting bigger. The lawsuit, initially filed by two named plaintiffs and four anonymous Jane Doe plaintiffs, alleges there’s a “fraternity culture” at the firm, and the firm’s notorious “black box” compensation system is used to pay women less than men at the firm. Earlier this month, an additional lawyer — Jessica Jardine Wilkes, who now works in-house at Facebook — joined the case after spending time working at the firm’s Menlo Park, California, office.

The latest former associate to opt into the case is notable in that she’s the first to come forward who worked at Jones Day’s New York office. As reported by American Lawyer, Katrina Henderson spent over two years at the firm before leaving for a job in-house:

Unlike the two named plaintiffs and two of the anonymous plaintiffs behind the April complaint, Katrina Henderson did not practice in Jones Day’s California offices. According to her LinkedIn profile and state bar records, she was an associate at the firm’s New York office from October 2013 to July 2016 before joining Pixar Animation Studios in August 2016. Earlier this month, she moved from Pixar to Amazon Studios in Santa Monica, California.

Currently, plaintiffs and defendant are clashing over whether the four Jane Doe plaintiffs should get to remain anonymous. While the firm is arguing the women should be forced to be names, as a plaintiff in any other lawsuit would have to do, plaintiffs take the position they should be allowed to remain Jane Does for the duration of the litigation, and in a recent filing one Doe plaintiff analogized her role to that of whistleblower.

Amazon Attorney Tags On to Jones Day Gender Bias Suit [American Lawyer]

Earlier coverage: Jones Day Hit With Explosive Gender Discrimination Case
Jones Day Facing Second Class-Action Lawsuit Over ‘Fraternity Culture’ Of The Firm
Partner Whose Behavior Features Prominently In Jones Day Gender Discrimination Lawsuit Is Out At The Firm
Jones Day Wants Gender Discrimination Plaintiffs To Reveal Themselves To The Public
Plaintiffs Throw Shade At Jones Day In Gender Discrimination Lawsuit
Gender Discrimination Lawsuit Against Jones Day Gets Yet Another Plaintiff
Gender Discrimination Lawsuit Against Jones Day Dropped — Well, One Of Them At Least


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).