In one of the national reckonings over systemic discrimination and disenfranchisement in recent years, that about the treatment and role of women known as #metoo, Goldman Sachs emerged not only relatively unscathed, but even improved. It pledged to seek gender parity in junior hiring, insisted that those companies seeking the Goldman seal of approval in going public put at least one non-penis-haver on their boards, welcomed back a top female refugee from the Trump administration while pointedly closing the door to a male one, and even elevated a woman to the role of heir apparent to CEO David Solomon.
Indeed, while the rest of Wall Street painfully grappled with how much their legacy as boys’ clubs still held problematic sway, Goldman was engulfed in a different and certainly much more expensive matter: that of defrauding a sovereign state with a serious ax to grind of some $6.5 billion. To deal with the situation, Goldman brought on some new legal firepower, and while they have certainly helped the bank successfully ply the choppy waters of the South China Sea, they’ve allegedly created some new ones.
Marla Crawford, a former vice president and associate general counsel in Goldman’s litigation and regulatory proceedings group, filed suit Monday in New York state court, alleging that she faced retaliation after raising concerns about global litigation head Darrell Cafasso using his position “to romantically prey” upon an unidentified woman who did not reciprocate his attentions.
The suit alleges Cafasso told General Counsel Karen Seymour about his conduct after his wife found out about it. Crawford claims Seymour proceeded to cover up for Cafasso, hiring an outside law firm to conduct a “bogus” investigation and telling another senior Goldman lawyer she was trying to “put this genie back in the bottle…..”
Crawford, who says she was a confidant of the woman, claims she tried to provide relevant information about Cafasso’s conduct but was told to keep quiet. She says her job ratings were subsequently lowered, her bonus was cut and she was terminated after she refused to move to Dallas after more than 10 years with the bank, according to the suit.
Top Goldman Lawyers Accused of Covering Up Sexual Harassment [Bloomberg]