Former Polsinelli bankruptcy partner Trey A. Monsour has filed a lawsuit against the firm alleging sexual orientation and age discrimination. Monsour, now a partner at Fox Rothschild, says the firm failed to provide him associate and administrative support, lowered his compensation, and even de-equitized his partnership before replacing him with a heterosexual woman. All of which is alleged to be a violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, a violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, and fraudulent inducement.
The complaint alleges that Polsinelli, in order to appeal to progressive clients and it combat its “Midwestern, ‘good old boys’ reputation,” touted its diversity but the lawsuit alleges that commitment is “farcical” and “mere pretense.”
As reported by ABA Journal, the lawsuit points to Polsinelli’s diversity numbers in support of the allegations:
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As evidence, the suit says Polsinelli has low numbers for hiring and promoting minorities to leadership positions when compared to other top law firms in the United States.
According to the suit, Polsinelli reported in 2019 that at least 72% of its partners were white heterosexual men; 22% of its partners were white heterosexual women; less than of its partners 2% were members of the LGBTQ community; and, at most, 7% of its partners were among all other minority groups combined, including veterans.
The complaint alleges Monsour was unable to receive much in the way of administrative or associate support, and when he complained about it, the situation worsened. The lawsuit goes on to describe incidents which Monsour says illustrate the poor treatment he received:
In one instance, no one at the firm told Monsour about the departure of a lawyer working in a substantial capacity on one of his matters, according to the suit. Instead, Monsour learned about it from outside co-counsel on the morning of an important hearing. When Monsour expressed concerns, a department chair “condescendingly asked” in an email whether Monsour “was able to stay ‘calm,’” the suit says.
In another “strange episode” in fall 2019, Monsour’s business and personal files were lost when the Houston office relocated to a new space in the same building, the suit says. The lost documents included client files, contracts and personal files containing his will and power of attorney. No other attorney files were lost.
In March of 2020, Monsour was fired from Polsinelli, despite what he characterizes as excellent work product and outperforming other attorneys on “clear, quantifiable metrics.” The complaint says when Monsour asked for a reason why he was let go, he was told he’s “difficult to work with.” Taken together, the lawsuit alleges what Monsour experienced was discriminatory, “a fact starkly punctuated by derogatory comments by firm leaders regarding gay employees that Mr. Monsour overheard firsthand.”
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Chase Simmons, chairman and CEO of Polsinelli, said the “allegations are outrageous.”
“The firm will vigorously defend itself against these erroneous and defamatory charges,” Simmons said. “We will do so with the facts, relying primarily on Mr. Monsour’s own words and actions. They will paint a very different story.”
Kathryn 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).