A lawsuit filed in opposition to White & Case particulars a celebration tradition run amuck on the Biglaw agency with deeply disturbing allegations.
Based on a complaint filed in New York state court docket, a staffer on the agency alleges he was the sufferer of a very grotesque violation of privateness. A agency worker says he was subjected to what the grievance calls a “humiliating and degrading” incident throughout a 2023 agency retreat. He alleges he was drunk, stripped bare, and photographed whereas unconscious by a supervisor. The submitting describes the incident in stark phrases, characterizing it as “intentional, malicious, and designed to demean.”
And if that have been the tip of the story, it might already be horrific, however there’s extra within the grievance.
As a substitute, the plaintiff alleges the pictures have been “retained, shared, and seen by others inside the Agency,” turning what ought to have been a one-off act of misconduct into an ongoing office damage. He claims he solely discovered of the pictures years later, at one other agency occasion, when coworkers allegedly referenced them in a approach the grievance describes as “mocking” and “deeply distressing.”
The plaintiff, recognized as “John Doe,” a Hispanic digital manufacturing specialist on the agency, says he reported the incident to White & Case’s administration the identical night he discovered of the pictures. Regardless of this, the grievance states that “quite than rectifying this egregious violation, White & Case has shielded the perpetrators, carried out a sham inside investigation, and retaliated in opposition to [John Doe] for talking out.”
The grievance pulls no punches, calling agency occasions a “breeding floor for misconduct, sexual harassment, and the degradation of minority staff.” And takes purpose on the agency itself, accusing White & Case of fostering an setting the place this sort of habits might occur after which failing to meaningfully reply.
The grievance repeatedly emphasizes the continued hurt the plaintiff says he skilled. It describes “extreme emotional misery, embarrassment, and humiliation,” tied not simply to the existence of the pictures however to their alleged circulation contained in the agency.
The continued dissemination, the lawsuit claims, “perpetuated a hostile work setting” and bolstered a tradition the place the plaintiff felt unsafe and unsupported.
White & Case, for its half, denies the allegations, saying, “We’re conscious of this matter and whereas we take all such allegations critically, these claims are baseless and we intend to defend them vigorously via the suitable course of. White & Case is dedicated to sustaining knowledgeable, respectful and inclusive office, and we have now strong insurance policies and procedures in place to help the excessive requirements we have now for our folks and our Agency.”
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Regulation, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the perfect, so please join together with her. Be happy to e mail her with any ideas, questions, or feedback and comply with her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Mastodon @Kathryn1@mastodon.social.
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