At @InHouseSecret , @LawyerCat_ , and @EHenak 's request, one of the weirdest cases I've ever been involved in.
This case actually involved a large law firm out of state that must remained unnamed. We were contacted by a female partner of this firm related to a senior 1/
This case actually involved a large law firm out of state that must remained unnamed. We were contacted by a female partner of this firm related to a senior 1/
partner's habit of putting his hands where they didn't belong, etc. It wasn't the worst SH case I'd ever seen, but it was definitely a viable claim. So we send a demand letter on her behalf.
We are contacted by counsel for this law firm - they actually retained a 2/
We are contacted by counsel for this law firm - they actually retained a 2/
big name plaintiff's attorney to defend them and they told us to pick the mediator. We picked a former COA judge. And they want to do it very, very quietly. All things point to "girlfriend's gonna get paid....."
So we go mediate this thing in yet another state 3/
So we go mediate this thing in yet another state 3/
on a Sunday in a meeting space in a national park. So after all this Ocean's 11 shit, I'm thinking they're going to get easily into mid six figures to avoid a public showdown.
But the mediation went absolutely no where. They had mid FIVE figures as their top offer. 4/
But the mediation went absolutely no where. They had mid FIVE figures as their top offer. 4/
So I'm pretty pissed. As I'm loading up my car, their attorney comes running over to me. He says "don't do anything - just call me on Tuesday morning. Don't do anything before then."
So I call him. He has mid six figures. Great, but what in the fuck was all that about? 5/
So I call him. He has mid six figures. Great, but what in the fuck was all that about? 5/
So we do the deal and I carry on. Two weeks later I have another mediation with the same mediator. She pulls me out of the room into the hallway and says "please tell me you managed to settle that case with that young woman?"
I say yes. She then tells me what happened. 6/
I say yes. She then tells me what happened. 6/
The senior partner accused of sexual harassment spent the entire mediation basically trying to charm the mediator. He said things to her like "I'm a gentleman, sweetie. You know I'd never do something like that. Let me take you on a date, I'll show you what I mean." 7/
He also asked for her phone number on several occasions. He said he couldn't authorize anything about this pitiful mid five figure number because he had to defend his honor as a man. He said, "if I gave her what she's asking for, you'd think I did this stuff. I 8/
can't have a pretty thing like you thinking I'm that kind of man." Apparently, this shit went on for the entire eight hours we were there. His nutless partners did nothing to derail it.
Seeing the writing on the wall, their lawyer went over the risk committee's 9/
Seeing the writing on the wall, their lawyer went over the risk committee's 9/
head (which this dude was fucking a part of, believe it or not, which is why the settlement froze) and went straight to the firm's managing partner. Outside of their presence, he told the mediator he was going to do this first thing Monday morning, which is why 10/
he ran me down in the parking lot. Apparently, he explained that if he took this case to trial and put that jackass on the stand that, at best, he'd make them all look like creepy perverts - at worst they'd take a massive L.
Still one of the weirdest cases I've ever been 11/
Still one of the weirdest cases I've ever been 11/
involved in. I saw that same firm hired an attorney to head a diversity and inclusion committee a few months after - that lawyer had a long history of putting on sexual harassment seminars.
12/12
12/12
