Employees

Stereotyped views of older lawyers led to firing of BigLaw partner, lawsuit alleges

A former partner at Katten Muchin Rosenman has alleged in a lawsuit that the law firm fired him and forced the leader of the aircraft finance group to retire after disbanding the practice because they were both in their 60s.

Apr 21, 2025 12:15 PM CDT

Law students sue EEOC over investigative letters sent to 20 BigLaw firms

Three law students have filed a lawsuit asking a federal court to order the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to withdraw investigative letters sent to 20 BigLaw firms and to return and delete information that it gathered from them.

Apr 17, 2025 9:43 AM CDT

Lawyers will seek stipulated dismissal of fired associate’s bias suit against Kirkland & Ellis

A fired associate and Kirkland & Ellis plan to ask a court to toss the lawyer’s federal lawsuit against the law firm alleging gender bias and retaliation, according to an April 8 docket entry.

Apr 14, 2025 2:35 PM CDT

BigLaw firms slow down recruiting and hiring amid changing political landscape

Law firms, and particularly those in BigLaw, are reexamining their business models to determine which practices are more likely to sustain them for the next four years and which might dry up or aren’t worth the scrutiny of President Donald Trump’s administration, law firm observers say.

Apr 10, 2025 12:23 PM CDT

Lawyer alleges BigLaw firm fired her 11 days after she disclosed epilepsy diagnosis, violating disability law

A former lawyer at Ballard Spahr has filed a lawsuit alleging that she was fired for taking medical leave after suffering gastrointestinal problems and a seizure.

Apr 10, 2025 9:00 AM CDT

After DC Circuit reinstates fired agency board members, chief justice pauses action

Updated: Chief Justice John Roberts has temporarily blocked reinstatement of fired board members of two independent agencies after an en banc federal appeals court ruled in their favor Monday.

Apr 9, 2025 9:11 AM CDT

Nonprofits that challenged mass firings didn’t have standing, Supreme Court says while staying rehiring order

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed a federal judge’s preliminary injunction that required the federal government to rehire as many as 16,000 fired probationary employees.

Apr 8, 2025 1:31 PM CDT

Supreme Court appears to favor Catholic charities group’s quest for state unemployment tax exemption

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday appeared to side with a group of Catholic charities in northern Wisconsin that sought a religious exemption from the state’s unemployment tax.

Apr 1, 2025 11:35 AM CDT

DC Circuit allows Trump to fire independent agency board members, for now; are administrative judges at risk?

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Friday allowed President Donald Trump to fire board members of two independent executive branch agencies while a legal challenge continues.

Apr 1, 2025 9:43 AM CDT

As DOJ employees fear what comes next, alums form group to help

A career federal litigator who left the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division after President Donald Trump’s inauguration in January founded the Justice Connection, an organization that supports the department’s current and former employees.

Mar 25, 2025 8:48 AM CDT

EEOC chair requested ‘extensive’ info from law firms on DEI practices and hiring; did it cross a line?

Lawyers and legal experts are expressing concerns that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s recent request for comprehensive information about diversity, equity and inclusion-related employment practices at major law firms is not only invasive but also exceeds its authority.

Mar 20, 2025 1:13 PM CDT

Diversity references scrubbed from BigLaw websites amid DEI probes; informal guidance issued

BigLaw firms are scrubbing diversity mentions from their websites and reexamining policies amid the Trump administration’s attack on diversity, equity and inclusion programs that it considers to be illegal.

Mar 20, 2025 11:57 AM CDT

When policies afford legal professionals discretion, they should choose to be trauma informed

Lawyers are big on adhering to statutes and caselaw precedents, contractual provisions and the clauses of internal governance documents, employee handbook policies, and terms from codes of conduct. But what happens when there is ambiguity?

Mar 17, 2025 3:01 PM CDT

You don’t need DEI programs to have diverse workplaces, say employment lawyers

Having DEI programs could come with litigation risks and press coverage that might result in lost customers, even if the program violates no laws, say lawyers interviewed by the ABA Journal. For companies and nonprofits planning to keep or add such programs, they advise various compliance practices.

Mar 6, 2025 11:31 AM CST

DC Circuit allows federal watchdog’s removal pending expedited appeal; US argued he had gone ‘rogue’

Updated: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Wednesday allowed the Trump administration to remove the leader of the Office of Special Counsel when it granted an emergency government request to stay a federal judge’s order pending appeal.

Mar 6, 2025 11:15 AM CST