Case Studies
Labor & Employment
The co-chair of the labor and employment group for an AmLaw 100 firm recently moved within the firm to California from Texas to be closer to the West Coast clients that she had served for years from Texas. While she was Chambers-ranked in Texas and well known by the general public there due to a legal segment that she anchored at a local television station, she was unknown in California. It was somewhat frustrating to her and her firm because the legal teams she was leading in the Americans with Disabilities Act area were creating new ADA law both in California and nationwide and it seemed as if her participation was being marginalized.
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.
Our client was an attorney with an AmLaw 200 national defense litigation firm. In his review of recent case law, he noticed an alarming trend for his clients: that even though they had anti-harassment policies and posting notices, they were still at risk from some types of harassment claims. He wanted to be known as an attorney who could help clients with this specific – and largely ignored – matter.
Our client, co-head of the appellate practice at one of the largest law firms in the Southeast U.S., and an AmLaw 200 firm, wanted to be positioned as a source on the Walmart v. Dukes Supreme Court case. The case was one of the most important of the court's 2010-2011 term as it had significant implications for class action suits of all types and employment class actions in particular