Louis Lehot
A partner at DLA Piper has released an open letter accusing a senior partner of sexual assault and asking the firm to release her from their mandatory arbitration agreement so she can “assert [her] civil claims for assault, battery, sexual harassment and retaliation in our transparent court system.”
Vanina Guerrero alleges the co-managing partner of the firm’s Silicon Valley office, Louis Lehot, repeatedly sexually assaulted her, beginning shortly after she began working for the firm in 2018. She goes on to allege that Lehot’s position at the firm and “extreme temper” initially prevented her from reporting the abuse:
Less than two weeks into my new job working for Mr. Lehot, I suffered his first sexual assault. This happened in his hotel room on a business trip to Shanghai. I suffered the second assault several weeks later during a business trip to Brazil. By November 2018, I had endured two more sexual assaults, one in Chicago and one in Palo Alto. Having moved my two toddlers and husband that I support financially from Hong Kong to California for this job, I was petrified to believe what was happening to me, much less tell anyone. Mr. Lehot’s extreme temper and angry tirades that include shouting and clenching his fists are common knowledge at the office. Lawyers, staff and admin assistants do everything possible to avoid his wrath. My many attempts to fend off Mr. Lehot’s sexual advances failed.
She goes on to detail the impact of the alleged assaults, both on her career and her health:
Mr. Lehot controls my work and my ability to advance. When I dared to tell him to stop, Mr. Lehot would refuse to speak to me for weeks, threaten to take me off of client deals, and accuse me of underperformance. Horrifically, I later learned that he suggested to numerous men at the Firm, and to certain clients, that he and I were involved in a consensual relationship. After months of Mr. Lehot’s relentless campaign and physical advances, I began experiencing panic attacks and stress related medical conditions that landed me in the emergency room several times.
Guerrero, who also filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, alleges that Lehot demeaned her accomplishments as an attorney, saying “she was a successful lawyer only because men were attracted to her” and allegedly undermining her career by spreading rumors that “clients and lawyers are ‘uncomfortable’ working with her because of her sexual appeal.” This is despite Guerrero being highly recruited by the firm, and Lehot allegedly telling her as part of the pitch to come to DLA that “‘you’ll be my boss soon.’”
When Guerrero finally complained about the treatment, she alleges she was told by Sang Kim, co-managing parter of the firm’s Northern California practices, that it “sounded like a ‘he said, she said’ situation and that the best way to resolve it was for me to ‘talk it out’ with Mr. Lehot and three other senior partners – all men.” She says only a few days after this, she was taken off a major deal.
A firm spokesperson has responded to the open letter and complaint:
“We are aware of these allegations by one of our partners and take them seriously,” said Josh Epstein, a spokesman for DLA Piper. “As soon as we were notified of the allegations, we took appropriate steps to investigate them. This process is ongoing.”
There’s been no word, as of yet, from DLA as to whether they will hold Guerrero to the forced arbitration clause that is a term of employment at the firm. As you may recall, DLA Piper has come under fire for their use of mandatory arbitration, and has refused to do away with the practice despite protests against mandatory arbitration outside of their office.
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, and host of The Jabot podcast. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).