Biglaw

DLA Piper Partner Accused Of Sexual Assault Speaks Out

He says his accuser is exploiting #MeToo.

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Louis Lehot

The allegations against DLA Piper partner Louis Lehot have reverberated through Biglaw. Now Lehot has released a statement and over 40 pages of correspondence with his accuser, Vanina Guerrero.

Earlier this month, DLA Piper partner Vanina Guerrero released an open letter to the firm, and filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, alleging that the co-managing partner of the Silicon Valley office, Louis Lehot, repeatedly sexually assaulted her after she’d been recruited to the firm in 2018. She additionally asked the firm to release her from their mandatory arbitration agreement so she’d be able to pursue her claims in open court. The firm has been conspicuously silent on the forced arbitration agreement — despite the attention their arbitration stance in this case has garnered, but, they did announce that Lehot had been let go from the firm. Then the firm put Guerrero on leave, saying they’d uncovered allegations unrelated to Lehot during their investigation of her claims.

As reported by Law.com, today Lehot admitted to having an “emotional relationship” with Guerrero and he said that was the reason he agreed to leave the firm.  His statement also said in no uncertain terms that he does not believe Guerrero is a victim:

“I acknowledge poor judgment in developing an emotional relationship with Vanina Guerrero. I deeply regret the pain this has caused my family, colleagues, clients and friends,” Lehot continued. “This isn’t victim-blaming or victim-shaming. She’s not a victim here.”

Lehot also released emails that are purportedly between himself and Guerrero that he says show a friendly rapport between the two during the time of the alleged assault. Of course, it frequently takes time for victims of assault to process and name their experiences, particularly when they’ve been victimized by an acquaintance.

Guerrero’s attorney took this latest development as an opportunity to further push to be let out of her mandatory arbitration agreement:

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Reached for comment Monday, Wigdor LLP partner Jeanne Christensen, who represents Guerrero, said, “By this, Louis Lehot is saying he’s OK with litigating in open court and no secret arbitration.”

DLA Piper has no new comment about this latest development.

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