Jones Day (Photo by David Lat)
If you thought the explosive lawsuit filed against Jones Day by former associates Julia Sheketoff and Mark Savignac was going to be boring once the initial shock of the allegations wore off, you’re in for more surprises. It was only last week that we told you about Sheketoff and Savignac’s case (not to be confused with the class-action gender discrimination lawsuit the firm is also facing), where they allege the firm’s non-gender neutral parental leave policy is discriminatory, the firm’s black box compensation system results in unequal pay, and the firm has a practice of altering firm photos to make their women attorneys more attractive/white, but the litigation machinations have already begun.
Shortly after the allegations in the complaint became public, Jones Day hit back at the plaintiffs, issuing a lengthy statement disputing the claims, calling the allegations at various points “legally indefensible,” “sensationalized,” “frivolous[],” and “gratuitous.” But now the plaintiffs are using that statement against Jones Day.
Jones Day partners Mary Ellen Powers and Traci Lovitt entered their appearances in the case, and asked for a 30-day extension to respond, citing their hectic schedules. Plaintiffs oppose the extension, arguing Jones Day should not be granted additional time to answer the complaint as their public statements reflect the firm has already investigated the claims, which they say the firm has known about for months. As reported by Law.com:
Jones Day’s contention that Sheketoff’s claims are frivolous is ”an extremely serious allegation against Julia as an officer of this court that surely would not have been made by a world-class law firm absent an exhaustive investigation,” the plaintiffs said.
The firm’s statement also provides “an inaccurate and misleading statement from (managing partner) Stephen Brogan discussing plaintiffs’ claims and smearing their reputations,” the pair asserted. “Defendants’ tactic of putting off litigation in court even as they attack plaintiffs on Facebook and Twitter also undermines the civil rights laws by deterring others from speaking out against discrimination at Jones Day.”
Plaintiffs also say that while Powers and Lovitt may have a lot on their plates, the firm still has a “small army” of lawyers to respond.
We’ll definitely be paying attention to all the twists and turns of this case as they develop.
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).