In March 2008, New York attorney, Caroline Memnon, filed a discrimination lawsuit against Clifford Chance and Sullivan & Worcester LLP. She sued Clifford Chance for blacklisting her after she agreed to leave in 2002 and failing to give her a contracted-for letter of recommendation. According to her complaint, Big Law refused to employ her for nearly six years despite graduating at the top of her class at Columbia Law School, working for two years in one of the largest corporate shops in the world, and speaking four languages. In the same suit, she sued S&W for acquiescing to Clifford Chance’s blacklisting by firing her after only six weeks of employment.  Like other discrimination victims, she and her claims were mocked in comments on Above The Law and The WSJ Blog, but she was not deterred.  Is it possible that she has now been vindicated––albeit, confidentially?

From Employment Law 360 (Subscription Required):

In a concise order filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Judge Harold Baer asked the clerk to remove the case from the court’s docket, announcing that plaintiff Caroline Memnon and S&W had agreed to a dismissal of all claims.

Charges against Clifford Chance US LLP, the other named defendant in the suit, are also no longer pending.

While counsel—Seyfarth Shaw LLP, Proskauer Rose LLP and Doman Davis LLP represented S&W, Clifford Chance and Memnon respectively—remain mum, according to Law360, after the court rejected some of the law firms’ summary-judgment arguments, a settlement conference was scheduled for November 25th. Days after that conference and only three weeks before trial, Memnon voluntarily dismissed her lawsuit. Hmmm…wonder if she’ll be joining Colin Powell and Aaron Charney at 220 West 93.

Full disclosure:  Latif Doman is also representing OBABL founder, Yolanda Young, in her discrimination lawsuit against Covington & Burling LLP.  His firm has developed a niche practice of advising and representing attorneys on their rights with regard to employment at large law firms.

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