They always say when it rains it pours and the case of the once Biglaw firm of LeClairRyan proves the saying. We’ve been reporting on the firm a lot recently, what with partners fleeing from the firm like rats on a sinking ship — even name partner Gary LeClair is leaving — and being barred by their lender from returning departing partners’ capital contributions and the firm handing out WARN Act notices informing staff of pending mass layoffs. But it turns out a decimated headcount isn’t the only problem the firm is facing.
Earlier this month, the firm was sued by the landlord of their Williamsburg, Virginia, office for $348,000, apparently over back rent. The lawyers practicing out of the office left the firm in February, and as reported by Law.com, the firm signed a promissory note, but the lawsuit suggests they haven’t lived up to the terms of the agreement:
The bare-bones confession of judgment filed by Robertson Liebler Development Group indicates that the law firm failed to pay the amounts due under a promissory note. The note doesn’t mention rent, but Robinson Liebler has the same address as the LLC that is listed in property records as the owner of the building where LeClairRyan had its offices.
LeClairRyan agreed to pay its landlord $506,000 under the promissory note, which was notarized Feb. 14 and signed by firm president Elizabeth Acee. Once the firm paid $272,000, the remaining amount due was to be waived, but based on the amount of the judgment, LeClairRyan only appears to have made the first two payments, plus a few hundred dollars.
The firm is also facing an unequal pay lawsuit. Former marketing professional Marci Keatts says she was paid less than her male colleague who was hired after she was and whom she was supervising:
Keatts was initially hired at the firm as a marketing communications coordinator and was promoted to marketing communications professional at the start of 2018, according to the complaint.
While in her previous role, she learned that she was earning $14,000 less than a male colleague hired five years after her start. She said that even after being promoted to supervise the colleague and receiving a $7,000 increase, she still lagged his salary by $7,000.
As part of LeClairRyan’s “law firm 2.0,” both the plaintiff and her subordinate were transferred to ULX Partners (the firm launched a strategic partnership with alternative legal service provider UnitedLex). Keats says she brought the matter to human resources, but the pay disparity continued. The plaintiff says she left the firm because of the unequal pay:
“This was not a voluntary decision on plaintiff’s part, but the result of defendants’ insistence of continuing a discriminatory pay practice towards plaintiff as reflected in the compensation associated with the ‘offer’ for continued employment,” said Keats, represented by Harris D. Butler III of Butler Royals in Richmond, Virginia.
All of this adds up to a heap of trouble for a firm that doesn’t seem to have much more time left.
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).