Pregnant Ex-DLA Piper Associate Calls Firing Excuse ‘Ludicrous’

DLA Piper LLP fired a senior associate for financial reasons when she was 6.5 months pregnant and seeking paid leave, not because she was a poor performer, she told a federal judge.

A trial is therefore required on her claims under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, and New York state and city laws, intellectual property lawyer Anisha Mehta said Thursday, opposing the firm’s motion for summary judgment in her 2023 suit.

DLA Piper’s claim that Mehta was fired because she underperformed from the time she started there 11.5 months earlier “is ludicrous,” she said, ...