Chadbourne Women Dispute Gender Discrimination Suit

Fourteen female partners from Chadbourne & Parke LLP are disputing a lawsuit filed last month by a former litigator for the firm. The suit proposes a class action against the firm for alleged gender bias. Kerrie Campbell filed the lawsuit on behalf of the 26 female partners Chadbourne has had since 2013, claiming the firm routinely underpays women and discriminates against those who question its gender discrimination practices. But this week 14 women partners disavowed the lawsuit, apparently angered that the class action purports to speak for them, “because we are too afraid to speak for ourselves.” That, they said, “is not how we see ourselves and certainly not how any of us believes our clients and colleagues perceive us.” They continued: “The complaint you crafted makes a group of very accomplished, assertive, and intelligent professional women look like they are victims unable to hold their own with their male colleagues. Obviously, you have taken this approach in order to inflate the damages claim to $100 million so as to attract attention from the press in hopes that the negative publicity will force a larger settlement. … We reject your characterizations of us as well as your claim to represent a class that purportedly includes us.” Campbell’s lawyer, David W. Sanford, said it is “interesting to note” that the women speaking out against the complaint did not refute its underlying allegations. They may be driven by their desire to “keep in good standing with the powers that be,” Sanford told the Wall Street Journal.