{"id":151106,"date":"2026-05-13T15:52:22","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T23:52:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/05\/13\/dla-piper-sued-for-discrimination-after-firing-palestinian-lawyer\/"},"modified":"2026-05-13T15:52:22","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T23:52:22","slug":"dla-piper-sued-for-discrimination-after-firing-palestinian-lawyer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/05\/13\/dla-piper-sued-for-discrimination-after-firing-palestinian-lawyer\/","title":{"rendered":"DLA Piper Sued For Discrimination After Firing Palestinian Lawyer"},"content":{"rendered":"

Two years ago, in the immediate aftermath of October 7, Biglaw firms started cutting ties with current and prospective lawyers<\/a> over reactions to the attacks. Law firms have an interest in disassociating themselves from lawyers endorsing the killing of civilians, but as we cautioned at the time<\/a>, the justifications for many of these firings read much closer to \u201cbeing Muslim with opinions about geopolitics.\u201d The latter category, of course, made for a legal problem waiting to happen. Foley & Lardner caught the first lawsuit<\/a> from an associate it fired before her start date after grilling her about her dad working at a mosque. That case is ongoing, after Foley & Lardner lost its summary judgment motion<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Now DLA Piper faces a similar suit.<\/p>\n

Yasmeen Elagha, a 2024 Northwestern Pritzker graduate, filed a federal civil rights complaint in the Northern District of Illinois this week, alleging that DLA Piper fired her 26 days after she disclosed her Palestinian identity in onboarding paperwork. The complaint brings nine counts under Title VII and 42 U.S.C. \u00a7 1981 for race, national origin, and religion-based discrimination, hostile work environment, and retaliation. According to Elagha, she was the only hijab-wearing employee at the firm during her 2023 summer associate stint, and while the firm knew she was Muslim, it did not know of her Palestinian heritage. She alleges that she was \u201crepeatedly subjected to unsolicited interrogation by partners and associates regarding her race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, and views concerning Palestine and Israel.\u201d She also alleges that she was told that another associate had been fired for supporting Palestine. <\/p>\n

For DLA Piper\u2019s part, they claim Elagha was fired for failing to disclose a criminal matter. Except\u2026 there is no criminal matter. There has, indeed, never been a criminal matter. Another student accused Elegah of assualt in connection with campus protests. Elagha \u201creported and disputed allegations that she assaulted another student and sought institutional review and investigation of those allegations.\u201d Northwestern University investigated the allegations and determined that no assault occurred and that Elagha violated no university policy. The Illinois Board of Law Admissions asked Elagha about an alleged assault and after looking into it admitted Elagha to practice. Northwestern Pritzker\u2019s dean personally wrote DLA Piper to confirm that there was no crime.<\/p>\n

Despite faceplanting on the \u201cfailing to disclose a criminal matter\u201d issue, DLA Piper maintained the termination anyway. <\/p>\n

The complaint places this decision to fire Elagha in a broader context of an atmosphere of alleged anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian discrimination. From a press release announcing the complaint:<\/p>\n

\n

This filing does not occur in a vacuum. In November 2023, DLA Piper co-signed a letter to law school deans warning of recruiting consequences for students who did not adopt the firm\u2019s position against Palestine. After Ms. Elagha\u2019s termination, the firm hosted a CLE seminar where a speaker called Palestinians \u201cdevils\u201d and associated Muslim and Arab organizations with terrorism.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The deans\u2019 letter referenced here is the November 2023 letter<\/a> that more than 200 firms signed, prompting Muslim bar associations to accuse the firms of fueling Islamophobia<\/a>. Sidley associate Melat Kiros wrote a rebuttal predicting that the letter would chill speech and make lawyers afraid to express sympathy for bombing victims for fear of retribution<\/a>. This proved prescient because Sidley immediately fired her over it.<\/p>\n

The CLE allegation\u2026 yikes. That would, on its own, make for a compelling hostile work environment claim. Unless the CLE was titled: \u201cAll The Things That You Absolutely, Positively Cannot Say Without Triggering A Justified Discrimination Claim.\u2019 And even then it would be iffy.<\/p>\n

In a statement published in American Lawyer<\/a>, Camille Olson of Seyfarth Shaw, representing DLA Piper, said \u201cthe firm decided against hiring Ms. Elagha as a result of her own unacceptable conduct. There was no unlawful discrimination.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not clear what the unacceptable conduct would be other than \u201chaving the audacity to be falsely accused of a crime and subsequently cleared,\u201d but we\u2019ll have to wait to see how the firm responds in court.<\/p>\n

(The complaint is available on the next page\u2026)<\/em><\/p>\n

Earlier:<\/strong> Biglaw Firm Sued For Revoking Offer To Arab-American Who Condemned Gaza Bombing<\/a>
Biglaw Firms Tell Law Schools To \u2018Pls Hndle Thx\u2019 Antisemitism<\/a>
Attorney Warns Biglaw\u2019s Antisemitism Letter Makes Lawyers Worry About Getting Fired, Gets Fired<\/a>
Davis Polk Rescinds Offers To T14 Law School Students For Their Controversial Statements On Israel<\/a>
NYU Law SBA President Brands Hamas Attacks As \u2018Necessary\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

\"Headshot\"Joe Patrice<\/a>\u00a0is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer<\/a>. Feel free to\u00a0email<\/a> any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on\u00a0Twitter<\/a>\u00a0or Bluesky<\/a> if you\u2019re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

The post DLA Piper Sued For Discrimination After Firing Palestinian Lawyer<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Two years ago, in the immediate aftermath of October 7, Biglaw firms started cutting ties with current and prospective lawyers<\/a> over reactions to the attacks. Law firms have an interest in disassociating themselves from lawyers endorsing the killing of civilians, but as we cautioned at the time<\/a>, the justifications for many of these firings read much closer to \u201cbeing Muslim with opinions about geopolitics.\u201d The latter category, of course, made for a legal problem waiting to happen. Foley & Lardner caught the first lawsuit<\/a> from an associate it fired before her start date after grilling her about her dad working at a mosque. That case is ongoing, after Foley & Lardner lost its summary judgment motion<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Now DLA Piper faces a similar suit.<\/p>\n

Yasmeen Elagha, a 2024 Northwestern Pritzker graduate, filed a federal civil rights complaint in the Northern District of Illinois this week, alleging that DLA Piper fired her 26 days after she disclosed her Palestinian identity in onboarding paperwork. The complaint brings nine counts under Title VII and 42 U.S.C. \u00a7 1981 for race, national origin, and religion-based discrimination, hostile work environment, and retaliation. According to Elagha, she was the only hijab-wearing employee at the firm during her 2023 summer associate stint, and while the firm knew she was Muslim, it did not know of her Palestinian heritage. She alleges that she was \u201crepeatedly subjected to unsolicited interrogation by partners and associates regarding her race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, and views concerning Palestine and Israel.\u201d She also alleges that she was told that another associate had been fired for supporting Palestine. <\/p>\n

For DLA Piper\u2019s part, they claim Elagha was fired for failing to disclose a criminal matter. Except\u2026 there is no criminal matter. There has, indeed, never been a criminal matter. Another student accused Elegah of assualt in connection with campus protests. Elagha \u201creported and disputed allegations that she assaulted another student and sought institutional review and investigation of those allegations.\u201d Northwestern University investigated the allegations and determined that no assault occurred and that Elagha violated no university policy. The Illinois Board of Law Admissions asked Elagha about an alleged assault and after looking into it admitted Elagha to practice. Northwestern Pritzker\u2019s dean personally wrote DLA Piper to confirm that there was no crime.<\/p>\n

Despite faceplanting on the \u201cfailing to disclose a criminal matter\u201d issue, DLA Piper maintained the termination anyway. <\/p>\n

The complaint places this decision to fire Elagha in a broader context of an atmosphere of alleged anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian discrimination. From a press release announcing the complaint:<\/p>\n

\n

This filing does not occur in a vacuum. In November 2023, DLA Piper co-signed a letter to law school deans warning of recruiting consequences for students who did not adopt the firm\u2019s position against Palestine. After Ms. Elagha\u2019s termination, the firm hosted a CLE seminar where a speaker called Palestinians \u201cdevils\u201d and associated Muslim and Arab organizations with terrorism.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The deans\u2019 letter referenced here is the November 2023 letter<\/a> that more than 200 firms signed, prompting Muslim bar associations to accuse the firms of fueling Islamophobia<\/a>. Sidley associate Melat Kiros wrote a rebuttal predicting that the letter would chill speech and make lawyers afraid to express sympathy for bombing victims for fear of retribution<\/a>. This proved prescient because Sidley immediately fired her over it.<\/p>\n

The CLE allegation\u2026 yikes. That would, on its own, make for a compelling hostile work environment claim. Unless the CLE was titled: \u201cAll The Things That You Absolutely, Positively Cannot Say Without Triggering A Justified Discrimination Claim.\u2019 And even then it would be iffy.<\/p>\n

In a statement published in American Lawyer<\/a>, Camille Olson of Seyfarth Shaw, representing DLA Piper, said \u201cthe firm decided against hiring Ms. Elagha as a result of her own unacceptable conduct. There was no unlawful discrimination.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not clear what the unacceptable conduct would be other than \u201chaving the audacity to be falsely accused of a crime and subsequently cleared,\u201d but we\u2019ll have to wait to see how the firm responds in court.<\/p>\n

(The complaint is available on the next page\u2026)<\/em><\/p>\n

Earlier:<\/strong> Biglaw Firm Sued For Revoking Offer To Arab-American Who Condemned Gaza Bombing<\/a>
Biglaw Firms Tell Law Schools To \u2018Pls Hndle Thx\u2019 Antisemitism<\/a>
Attorney Warns Biglaw\u2019s Antisemitism Letter Makes Lawyers Worry About Getting Fired, Gets Fired<\/a>
Davis Polk Rescinds Offers To T14 Law School Students For Their Controversial Statements On Israel<\/a>
NYU Law SBA President Brands Hamas Attacks As \u2018Necessary\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

\"Headshot\"Joe Patrice<\/a>\u00a0is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer<\/a>. Feel free to\u00a0email<\/a> any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on\u00a0Twitter<\/a>\u00a0or Bluesky<\/a> if you\u2019re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

1<\/strong> 2<\/a>Next \u00bb<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Two years ago, in the immediate aftermath of October 7, Biglaw firms started cutting ties with current and prospective lawyers over reactions to the attacks. Law firms have an interest in disassociating themselves from lawyers endorsing the killing of civilians, but as we cautioned at the time, the justifications for many of these firings read […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":151107,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-151106","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-above_the_law"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/xira.com\/p\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Headshot-300x200-h3ZYdb.jpg?fit=300%2C200&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151106","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=151106"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151106\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/151107"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=151106"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=151106"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=151106"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}