Suit by fired BigLaw associate alleges 'egregious and open racism' that included 'white power' comment
Updated: A Black female associate was “unceremoniously terminated” from McDermott Will & Emery after she complained about a “particularly harmful act of discrimination” in summer 2024, according to a July 30 lawsuit.
Ashley Ogedegbe didn’t intend to take the complaint to human resources because it has been “weaponized” by the law firm as “a shield against accountability, conducting sham investigations to conceal the truth,” she said in the suit filed by the Wigdor firm in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
But she answered yes when asked whether she thought that she had been removed from a Louisiana hospital deal for discriminatory purposes and whether she thought that it was harder for Black women to get work at the firm.
HR posed the questions after Ogedegbe complained about being removed from the deal in writing and after she expressed concerns about being pushed out of the firm in a private conversation with an associate. After the HR questioning, Ogedegbe experienced “repeated and escalating retaliation” until her firing, the suit said.
Ogedegbe said she experienced “egregious and open racism” soon after she began work at McDermott’s Chicago office in October 2022. A Black receptionist who gave Ogedegbe a tour of the office on her first day had warned her, “Black women don’t last at the firm.”
“Unfortunately, it did not take long for Ms. Ogedegbe to discover why,” according to the suit.
The suit described Ogedegbe’s “shock and horror” that happened during a diversity and inclusion program at an associate retreat in November 2022. During the program, associates were asked to answer the questions that included, “What do you hide about yourself at work?” and, “What are you most proud of?”
The answers, displayed on a large screen, included references to “white pride,” “white skin,” “white power” and “Nazism,” according to the suit.
Afterward, “the firm did virtually nothing to address this brazen demonstration of racism,” the suit said. The firm would later claim that its chairman Ira Coleman condemned the behavior the next day, but it was not clear that he actually did so, and, if it did happen, it happened at a poorly attended meeting, the suit said.
One of Ogedegbe’s colleagues who sought an investigation and a formal written apology was fired soon afterward, the suit said. The firm’s diversity committee later said there would be no written statement because of a fear that it would be leaked to the blog Above the Law, according to the suit.
Between that incident and her firing after transferring to the firm’s Miami office, Ogedegbe “was subjected to systemic discrimination in virtually all facets of her employment, including a hostile work environment, disparate work allocation and intentional exclusion,” the suit said.
In one case, white lawyers given the fruits of Ogedegbe’s labor performed so poorly that Ogedegbe “had to correct their work but only from behind the scenes,” the suit said. “On another occasion, Ms. Ogedegbe was told that she was going to need to be the ‘fall person’ after a white income partner made various mistakes.”
In one instance, Ogedegbe was assigned to write, present and publish an article. When it was published, McDermott mistakenly included the name of a different Nigerian associate, rather than hers, the suit said.
“There is no more egregious example of the ‘all Black people are the same’ attitude at the firm than this,” the suit said.
Ogedegbe had left Katten Muchin Rosenman to work in McDermott’s digital health practice based on representations that she would be working with a “warm, welcoming and collaborative” team.
“Unfortunately, however, this congenial work environment was not available to Black lawyers and particularly Black women,” the suit said.
The suit alleges discrimination and retaliation in contracting in violation of Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act. Ogedegbe will seek to amend the suit after receiving a right to sue letter from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to add claims of violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Florida Civil Rights Act and the Illinois Human Rights Act.
A McDermott spokesperson told the ABA Journal that the firm has reviewed the suit “and vigorously denies the countless false accusations made in the suit.”
“Over the past several months, the firm has been in contact with Ms. Ogedegbe’s attorney regarding this matter and has responded directly to her false accusations with facts,” the statement said. “We remain committed to defending the firm’s position, consistent with our prior communications to her. As to all the accusations made, they are factually incorrect.”
McDermott will be known as McDermott Will & Schulte after its merger with Schulte Roth & Zabel, set to happen Aug. 1.
The case is Ogedegbe v. McDermott Will & Emery.
Ogedegbe is represented by Wigdor lawyer Michael J. Willemin.
“Ms. Ogedegbe’s experience is a stark example of what happens when anti-discrimination policies are performative and when powerful institutions retaliate instead of reflect and remediate,” Willemin said in a statement. “What she endured—exclusion, appropriation and ultimately retaliatory termination—is not only unacceptable, it is unlawful. We are committed to holding the firm accountable on her behalf.”
Updated July 31 at 12:25 p.m. to add the statement from the McDermott Will & Emery spokesperson.
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