Duane Morris Says Sex Harassment Plaintiff Wasn’t an Associate

A lawyer who filed a sexual harassment suit against Duane Morris is facing questions about whether she was an associate at the law firm.

The plaintiff, Taryn Williams, claims she was an associate reviewing documents at Duane Morris in Houston when she was harassed by her supervisor and fired for past complaints, the National Law Journal reports. But a spokesman for the law firm told the publication that Williams had never worked as an associate and had never received a paycheck from Duane Morris.

Williams’ suit says she was a contract employee working for Hudson Highland Group before joining Duane Morris, the story says. The woman she accuses of harassment, Kelly Holmes, had been a fellow employee, the suit alleges. At Duane Morris, Holmes became Williams’ document review supervisor, according to the complaint.

The suit says the harassment occurred at the contract staffing firm as well as the law firm, and that Williams was fired because of complaints she made to Hudson Highland.