Black K&L Gates Partner’s Federal Suit Paused for Arbitration

A Black former K&L Gates LLP partner who accuses the firm of systemic discrimination against Black lawyers despite efforts to market itself as a diversity leader will have to wait to pursue the federal lawsuit he filed in November, a New York federal judge ruled.

K&L Gates and the eight individual defendants Willie E. Dennis sued Nov. 10 subsequently got a local judge in the District of Columbia to grant their motion to compel Dennis to arbitrate his claims, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York said Wednesday. The defendants therefore showed that Dennis’ federal suit should be stayed pending the outcome of arbitration, the court said.

Dennis didn’t file a brief opposing the motion to stay, Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil said. He instead filed an amended complaint March 22 that “alleges substantially the same causes of action as Plaintiff’s original complaint,” the judge said.

The District of Columbia Superior Court granted the motion to compel Feb. 22. Dennis was late in filing his opposition to that motion, despite being given extra time, and his proposed opposition failed to address the motion’s merits, according to that ruling.

Dennis alleges in his federal suit that Black lawyers face dim career opportunities and limited chances for training and development at K&L Gates. The firm also denies Black attorneys equal access to work that is substantive and high-profile, further hindering their partnership prospects, Dennis says.

He personally faced race discrimination in his time at K&L Gates notwithstanding “the decades of goodwill” he established “in the African American community” over a career that included participation in the Obama, Hillary Clinton, and Biden presidential campaigns, Dennis says.

The bias included being denied origination credit for business he generated from clients such as Microsoft and Starbucks, Dennis alleges.

Black partners were also paid less than White partners, and systemic pay bias similarly exists among K&L associates, he says.

K&L says the suit is “meritless,” “rife with false and defamatory allegations,” and part of a “nearly two-year” smear campaign by Dennis.

Dennis, of New York, is representing himself. Proskauer Rose LLP represents K&L Gates and eight individual defendants.

The case is Dennis v. K&L Gates LLP, S.D.N.Y., No. 1:20-cv-09393, motion to stay granted 3/24/21.