Alaska Employment Law

Allegations of an unsafe work environment, unresponsive management at Big Law: a law student perspective

This morning news of a claim filed with both the EEOC and the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination against Boston firm Bingham McCutchen began making the rounds, and by noon the blawgosphere was in its typical frenzy. Michelle A. Moor, an ex-associate of Bingham, alleges that she was drugged at a company Christmas party. Even more disturbing than the allegation of drugging, perhaps, is the firm’s response and the slowly emerging pattern of a firm unsupportive of its female associates. Ms. Moor, for instance, reports that a fellow associate commented, in front of other Bingham attorneys, that he “enjoyed having sex with women … who were unconscious” and “knew how to get ‘roofies.’”

As Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly reports,

According to the complaint, after Moor reported the incidents to the firm, “Bingham failed to take steps to ensure Ms. Moor’s safety.” This “failure to investigate and take prompt and adequate remedial action,” the complaint alleges, “constitute[s] sex discrimination.”

In response to her complaints, the firm moved Ms. Moor to a floor separate from her practice group (litigation). Despite telling Moor that her complaints would be investigated, the firm repeatedly ignored them, she says.  When she spoke with a senior associate about her experience, the attorney, shockingly, confided that she herself had been drugged and raped by a fellow employee of the firm.

The WSJ Law Blog reports on the firm’s response to Ms. Moor’s complaint:

In a statement, according to the Globe, Bingham said it took the associate’s allegations “extremely seriously” and conducted an “appropriate and thorough investigation,” but was unable to confirm whether the person who gave her the drug was associated with the firm. The firm also said it is providing personal safety training to its employees in response to the associate’s concerns.

For a law student who has spent the day discussing the case with others (I am currently a 3L at Northeastern University School of Law, the alma mater of both Ms. Moor and her attorney), this case raises a number of issues. First, outrage.  Outrage not only at the described behavior of the men in question, but also at the seeming unresponsiveness of the firm. The idea that offering self-defense lessons is a viable response to allegations of rape is outrageous. Does Bingham really believe that leaving associates to physically fight each other off is the appropriate response? After all, the whole point of “roofies” is to render someone unable to physically respond, making whatever self-defense skills you have learned on your lunch break at Bingham completely useless. Additionally, there is a response of shattered naivete. Many of us heading into the field of law spend an inordinate amount of time defending the much-maligned profession of law, and yet, it seems, little has changed in the world of sexist, everyone-for-himself Big Law. 

And then there are the legal questions. Primarily, what responsibility does Bingham have regarding behavior at firm parties, whether on or off company premises? What is the proper response to these allegations? Was moving Ms. Moor to a different floor appropriate?And, finally, what about that agreement the firm had Ms. Moor sign? The complaint indicates that Bingham informed her that, while she was employed at the firm, she signed an agreement stating that any disputes related to her employment would be “resolved exclusively through final and binding arbitration,” and that therefore she “cannot sue the firm in court.”  (See WSJ again.) What rights does Moor retain, and what can Bingham legitimately ask her to do? What rights do summer associates, who are not yet hired and therefore especially unlikely to file claims or lodge complaints, retain?

As a law student who has gone through the competitiveness and anxiety of on-campus interviewing for coveted summer associate positions, I fear thinking of how many people wouldn’t be as brave as Ms. Moor.  The majority of us law students are so used to focusing on achievement, getting ahead, competing, and putting up with whatever it takes to get the job.  Ms. Moor is to be commended for her persistence in attempting to get a response from Bingham. She is also to be commended for leaving the firm when she didn’t feel safe.  Time will tell whether she will be appropriately rewarded for bringing this behavior to light. Regardless, those of us entering the field of law owe her a debt of gratitude for refusing to stay quiet.

Sarah J. Schendel is a student at Northeastern University School of Law in Boston, Massachusetts.