{"id":99562,"date":"2025-01-08T12:03:00","date_gmt":"2025-01-08T20:03:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2025\/01\/08\/biglaw-associate-files-discrimination-lawsuit-alleging-he-was-fired-because-he-doesnt-endorse-the-same-leftist-worldview\/"},"modified":"2025-01-08T12:03:00","modified_gmt":"2025-01-08T20:03:00","slug":"biglaw-associate-files-discrimination-lawsuit-alleging-he-was-fired-because-he-doesnt-endorse-the-same-leftist-worldview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2025\/01\/08\/biglaw-associate-files-discrimination-lawsuit-alleging-he-was-fired-because-he-doesnt-endorse-the-same-leftist-worldview\/","title":{"rendered":"Biglaw Associate Files Discrimination Lawsuit Alleging He Was Fired Because He Doesn\u2019t \u2018Endorse The Same Leftist Worldview\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

He says the firm discriminated against him because he’s a military veteran.
\nThe post Biglaw Associate Files Discrimination Lawsuit Alleging He Was Fired Because He Doesn\u2019t \u2018Endorse The Same Leftist Worldview\u2019 appeared first on Above the Law.<\/p>\n

\"menLast year, news broke<\/a> about William D. Brown Jr., a former associate at McCarter & English, who, in the wake of his firing from Biglaw, blamed his new employment status on a \u201cpolitical purge\u201d of conservatives and a LinkedIn post he penned about \u201cgangsta rap\u201d and violence in the Muslim world, which the firm contended advanced harmful racial stereotypes. TBH, in the 11 months since I first wrote about Brown<\/a>, I\u2019d forgotten all the discrimination he claimed to experience during his time in Biglaw, and I can only assure you it\u2019s QUITE THE JOURNEY.<\/p>\n

Well, Brown has finally filed a lawsuit<\/a> in Essex County Superior Court in New Jersey against McCarter & English. The actual filing alleges it was Brown\u2019s veteran status and complaints about unequal pay were the *real* reasons for his dismissal and the the firm\u2019s concerns about the controversial \u201cgangsta rap\u201d social media post were merely a smokescreen for discriminatory behavior.<\/p>\n

According to the complaint, \u201cNo other protected class was subjected to such treatment within the defendant\u2019s workplace, which was replete with a robust DEI and Social Justice structure which wholly neglected the tiny minority of veterans within their own ranks at the firm.\u201d As reported by <\/a>Law.com:<\/p>\n

\n

The complaint further details allegations of Brown being excluded from the firm\u2019s annual diversity retreat despite his veteran status throughout his time at the firm, as well as being \u201cberated\u201d for asking why the firm\u2019s DEI committee failed to send an email out commemorating the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, in 2022 and for making a LinkedIn post in 2023 observing that veterans \u201care paid substantially less for the same work as others and then pressured out and denied opportunities when we speak up for ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

The day after he made that LinkedIn post, Brown claims, he was brought into a conference room with the firm\u2019s managing partner, Joseph Boccassini, and employment equity partner Adam Saravay and asked \u201cif he was mentally sound.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe implication of violent intent \u2026 plays into the worst media stereotypes of veterans as mentally damaged and dangerous,\u201d the complaint reads.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

As a career bankruptcy associate, Brown made less than newly hired associates. The complaint also points to his efforts \u201cto receive fair and equal pay for the same work,\u201d as motivation for his firing. Additionally, Brown asserts the firm assigned him sexual-abuse defense work in an effort to push him out of McCarter.<\/p>\n

Brown also sought a referral for a fellow veteran facing charges related to the January 6th insurrection. The firm did not provide one, and that\u2019s another complaint Brown lodges about his time at the firm. \u201cAt defendant McCarter there were clearly separate standards of acceptable conduct in interaction with those employees who adhered to political left orthodoxy, and those who committed political heresy by supporting the rights of the accused who happened to not endorse the same leftist worldview.\u201d<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for McCarter & English provided the following statement: \u201cAs always with an initial complaint, it tells one side of the story. Once the full history is brought to light, we are confident we will be fully vindicated. We intend to defend this case against the firm and clear the names of those individuals referenced within the complaint.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

\"KathrynKathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast<\/a>, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer<\/a>. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her<\/a> with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1<\/a>\u00a0or Mastodon @[email\u00a0protected].<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

He says the firm discriminated against him because he’s a military veteran. The post Biglaw Associate Files Discrimination Lawsuit Alleging He Was Fired Because He Doesn\u2019t \u2018Endorse The Same Leftist Worldview\u2019 appeared first on Above the Law. Last year, news broke about William D. Brown Jr., a former associate at McCarter & English, who, in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":99563,"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":[16,17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-99562","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-above_the_law","category-legal_matters"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/xira.com\/p\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/GettyImages-501667803-250738-scaled.jpeg?fit=2560%2C1696&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99562","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"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=99562"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99562\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/99563"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=99562"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=99562"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=99562"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}