Law Firm Bias Cases Hinge on Meaning of Partner

Kerrie Campbell joined Chadbourne & Parke as a partner in Washington in 2014, and two years later a question emerged in her gender discrimination lawsuit against the firm: Did her role as a partner mean she was an employee or an owner at the firm?

The distinction is critical because only employees, not owners, have a right to file discrimination lawsuits under federal civil rights laws. The company argued Campbell, as a partner, couldn’t press the claim that women were paid and promoted unequally compared to their male counterparts. Campbell’s case isn’t unique. The question has continued to emerge in ...