Law Firm Homophobia: Ex-Fried Frank Associate Sues Firm, Claiming Harassment, Phony Reviews

I have looked at the homophobia that still permeates much of the legal profession - particularly outside of truly major metropolitan areas - in prior posts. However, even some law firms in the largest cities may still have their prejudices. One potential example is Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson in New York City which about to be sued by a former associate attorney, Julie Kamps, who plans to file a lawsuit this week in federal court in Manhattan. Kamps, previously filed a less detailed complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which in a separate proceeding, issued Kamps a notice of right to sue in November indicating that it appeared that discrimination had indeed occurred. In a prior post, I looked at the disconnect between the non-discrimination policies of top law schools and what law firms actually engage in as laid out in a letter to four Virginia law schools. To date, only the College of William & Mary School of Law has responded and the response was less than encouraging as I will discuss in separate post. Meanwhile, here are some highlights from the AmLaw Daily:
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A former associate plans to file a wide-ranging $50 million lawsuit against Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson, accusing the firm of denying her a promotion to partner because she is a lesbian and of doing nothing to stop higher-ups from harassing her, according to a copy of the complaint obtained by The Am Law Daily.
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A firm spokeswoman did not immediately provide a comment in response to the suit. Kamps, a graduate of Harvard Law School, worked at Fried Frank from 1998 until January of this year, when the firm terminated her in the middle of an arbitration hearing.
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In the complaint, to be filed this week, Kamps claims that Janice Mac Avoy, a litigation partner, "knowingly made unwelcome sexual advances and sexual comments to Kamps, both alone and in the presence of others." Mac Avoy allegedly "told Kamps it was 'the biggest regret of her life' that she had not slept with Kamps 'when she had the chance,'" and discussed various sexual acts with Kamps, the complaint states. Kamps also alleges that Mac Avoy encouraged her to "wear women's clothes," because William McGuinness, chair of the firm's litigation department, believed Kamps's preference for men's shirts could "make clients uncomfortable."
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As we've previously reported, Fried Frank terminated Kamps in the middle of an arbitration session in January, during which Bettina Plevan, a well-known employment attorney at Proskauer Rose, represented Fried Frank. It is unclear why Kamps was fired at that time, and Kamps claims in her lawsuit that she has never received a negative performance evaluation or a solid reason for her dismissal.

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It will be interesting to see where the case goes. The fact that the EEOC issued a right to sue letter does seem to add credence to Kamps' claims.