LAT: U.S. Charges Law Partnership With Age Bias

[DeepModem Mom]

U.S. Charges Law Partnership With Age Bias
In a class-action suit, antidiscrimination agency says one of the nation's oldest firms broke the law by forcing out 32 older lawyers.

By Henry Weinstein, Times Staff Writer


The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has charged one of the nation's largest law firms with age discrimination, contending that it violated the law by forcing out older partners. Legal experts said the case could have major ramifications for the legal business, which has changed dramatically in recent years.

The class-action suit — the first of its kind against a law firm — alleges that Sidley Austin Brown & Wood has maintained an illegal "age-based retirement policy" since at least 1978 and that the firm arbitrarily forced out 32 partners in 1999.

Based in Chicago, Sidley has 1,500 lawyers in a dozen cities, including Los Angeles, spread over three continents. It represents a number of large corporations, including Tribune Co., the parent company of the Los Angeles Times.

Historically, law firm partnerships have not been subject to discrimination laws because partners, as the co-owners of an enterprise, were considered employers.

The EEOC is alleging that the cashiered lawyers were partners in name only because they had no voice in the firm's management — including hiring, firing and salary decisions. Consequently, the lawyers were "employees" entitled to the protections of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, said John C. Hendrickson, the EEOC's regional attorney in Chicago....


http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-oldlaw18jan18,0,5254746.story?coll=la-home-nation

[lostnfound]

1. Lots of contributions to Democrats..

Probably has more to do with who they defend, but FYI:

http://www.opensecrets.org/indivs/search.asp?NumOfThou=0&txtName=&txtState=%28all+states%29&txtZip=&txtEmploy=sidley+austin&txtCand=&txt2004=Y&txt2002=Y&Order=N

[DeepModem Mom]

2. One might have guessed --

thanks for the info, lostnfound.