Case Studies
Making the Most of a Major Case
The Background:
On June 19, 2001, five current and former female Walmart and Sam’s Club employees filed a class action lawsuit in federal court in San Francisco called Dukes v. Walmart. Their suit charged that Walmart discriminates against its female employees in making promotions, job assignments, pay decisions and training, and retaliates against women who complain against such practices. The class was comprised of all present and former employees of Walmart’s retail outlets, including Walmart discount stores, supercenters, neighborhood stores and Sam’s Club who believed they had been discriminated against. Five law firms were working together on this case. One of the overriding themes our client pursued was Walmart’s status as the largest private employer in the United States, and the largest retailer in the world with a comparatively smaller proportion of women it had promoted into management.
A More Effective Solution to a Legal Marketing Problem:
We researched and developed a targeted media list of reporters at national, legal and business trade publications who covered retail business. After coordinating a press conference in San Francisco and announcing the filing of the sex discrimination case, it was not difficult to continue to interest members of the media worldwide. As with all subsequent press events for this case, we included a phone participation option that enabled a significant number of media from across the U.S. to listen in. Working closely with the two lead attorneys, we crafted key themes and talking points from deposition testimony and documents.
Exceptional Public Reputation Management Results:
As the case weaved its way through the lower courts, one of our major tasks was to provide interview opportunities for lawyers working on the case. We worked closely with many of the reporters who covered retail business and those on the class action legal beat, and when developments in the case occurred, we contacted them and enticed many with exclusive interview opportunities. The culmination was the Supreme Court ruling on the case, and all of our client attorneys found themselves center-stage in the national media coverage.