Former Female Associate Files Discrimination Suit Against Clifford Chance

According to the AmLaw Daily, when Clifford Chance laid off six associates in November 2007, a former female associate claims the firm was trageting women and minorities, per the story by Nate Raymond in The New York Law Journal, a sibling publication.

Karen Ramdhanie, 48, said in a recent complaint filed in Manhattan Supreme Court that on the eve of the layoffs, two white male associates were moved out of her group, leaving just black and female lawyers, who were then laid off.

“They were so blatant in their discrimination,” Ramdhanie told the NYLJ.

The complaint goes on to say that two days after the layoffs took place, the London-based firm announced year-end bonuses of $35,000 to $65,000 and a “special bonus” of $50,000 because the firm had “done extremely well in 2007.”

Because she had been laid off, Ramdhanie was not eligible for the bonus, in spite of her claim she worked late into the night for 11 months on 33 transactions.

According to the complaint, she is seeking compensatory and punitive damages for discrimination based on race, gender, national origin, and age. She also is asking for a letter of apology from Clifford Chance and requesting that the firm revise its hiring and firing policies with regard to black associates, reports the NYLJ. Ramdhanie, who has been unemployed since being laid off, is representing herself in the suit, the NYLJ reports.

Clifford Chance has faced discrimination-related litigation before. In 2005, Muslim associate Asma Hasan claimed she was wrongfully dismissed and subject to religious discrimination when she was fired in 2004. Two years ago, Caroline Memnon, a black associate of Haitian descent, sued the firm for firing her in 2002 and making it difficult to find a job elsewhere. The firm offered her a settlement of $350,000, The American Lawyer reported in March.

The firm declined to comment to the NYLJ.