https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/law-firm-dla-piper-faces-lawsuit-after-firing-pregnant-lawyer-2023-06-06/

Law firm DLA Piper faces lawsuit after firing pregnant lawyer

By Andrew Goudsward

June 7, 20237:52 AM PDTUpdated 17 days ago

Signage is seen outside of the law firm DLA Piper in Washington, D.C., U.S., August 30, 2020. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly

(Reuters) - A former attorney at law firm DLA Piper sued the firm on Tuesday, alleging she was fired for seeking maternity leave.

Anisha Mehta said in a discrimination lawsuit in Manhattan federal court that the firm fired her in October 2022, less than a week after she submitted a request to go on leave.

Mehta, a senior associate in the firm’s intellectual property group, was six months pregnant with her first child at the time, according to the complaint.

The 4,200-lawyer international firm told Mehta she was being fired for performance issues, the lawsuit said, but Mehta claims that she received three raises and a more than $100,000 bonus during her year-long stint at the firm and that her work was regularly praised by superiors.

In reality, Mehta claims, DLA Piper did not want to pay her salary during her planned leave, at a time when the firm was drawing less legal work and under pressure from clients over billing rates.

Michele Maryott, a partner at law firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher representing DLA Piper, said DLA Piper stands by its decision to fire Mehta and "looks forward to presenting its case in court."

Maryott said the firm is "exceptionally supportive of working parents and has a generous parental leave policy."

Mehta’s attorney, Jeanne Christensen of the plaintiffs' firm Wigdor, said DLA Piper engaged in “blatant gender discrimination” and demonstrated “allegiance to profits over gender parity.”

Several large U.S. law firms laid off lawyers and support staff last year as highly profitable transactional work dried up following booming demand in 2020 and 2021.

DLA Piper was not among the firms that publicly reported layoffs. The firm’s revenue grew 6.2% in 2022, according to legal publication The American Lawyer.

Mehta’s lawsuit accuses DLA Piper of violating federal laws on pregnancy discrimination and retaliation and seeks unspecified damages and attorney fees.

Mehta also filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in March.

(Updated to include comments from an attorney representing DLA Piper.)