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Delaware Law Firm Hit With Sexual Harassment Suit
The Legal Intelligencer
October 08, 2009
A recently filed sexual harassment suit against a Wilmington, Del., law firm is garnering attention not only because it's chock-full of salacious details, but also because both the plaintiff and the alleged harasser are female lawyers.
In the suit, attorney Jennifer Braude of Philadelphia claims that during the 18 months she spent as an associate at Maron Marvel Bradley & Anderson, she was subjected to a "hostile environment" due to the sexually charged conversations initiated by her direct supervisor, Meredith Sossman.
Sossman, who is now an assistant vice president at Drexel University's Earle Mack School of Law, declined to be interviewed about Braude's allegations, saying, "It would not be appropriate to comment." Sossman is not named as a defendant in the suit. The defendant is the law firm.
The firm had a similar response. In a statement, Brenda Thompson, the firm's executive director, said that Braude's lawsuit "involves allegations of wrongful conduct claimed to have occurred in 2007 by an employee no longer with the firm. Our attorneys in this matter have advised us that it would be inappropriate to comment on the particulars of the allegations."
As a result, Braude's lawsuit remains a one-sided story for now. The firm has not yet filed a response, so all that exists at this time are the plaintiff's allegations.
In the suit, Braude (pronounced like "Brody") claims that when she complained of Sossman's conduct, the firm at first did nothing to stop it and instead allowed Sossman to retaliate against Braude.
Later, the suit alleges, Braude was denied any end-of-year bonus, and the firm refused to offer any explanation.
But less than one week later, in early January 2008, the suit alleges, Braude was promised that the firm was taking her allegations about Sossman seriously and that the charges would be investigated.
According to the suit, the firm's office administrator, Lisa Lewis, told Braude that Sossman was a "cancer" and that the firm needed to fix the situation.
The suit also says partner Cathie McEldowney told Braude to take a temporary leave while the investigation was being conducted.
Braude claims she told Lewis and McEldowney that she felt forced to resign because she did not believe the firm would take appropriate corrective action.
The suit alleges that Lewis told Braude on Jan. 24, 2008, that Sossman had been terminated and that Lewis asked Braude if she wanted to return to work.
Braude claims she instead requested a 30-day leave, but that the firm soon after informed her that if she wanted to become "re-employed" with the firm, she would need to reapply and be considered along with other applicants.
Braude's lawyers, Stephen G. Console and Caren N. Gurmankin of Console Law Offices, contend in the suit that Braude's sex "was a motivating and/or determinative factor" in the firm's "discriminatory and retaliatory treatment," including the creation of a hostile work environment, the firm's failure to pay Braude a bonus and in Braude's termination.
In the suit, Braude claims that Sossman consistently injected sexual topics into the workday banter and often made comments about Braude's body and choice of clothing.
The suit alleges that Sossman talked about her own sexual interests, including engaging in "foursomes" and kissing her best female friend, who Sossman allegedly described as looking very similar to Braude.
Sossman also allegedly made Braude's sex life the subject of discussion, the suit says, allegedly telling Braude that she was "sexy" and "dirty hot." Attached to the suit is a copy of Braude's initial complaint filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in February 2008.
In the EEOC complaint, Braude accused Sossman of "making me turn around slowly whenever I came into her office so that she could assess what I was wearing and how I looked. If I tried sitting down immediately upon entering her office, she told me to stand up and let her see what I was wearing."
Braude also accuses Sossman in the suit of "pressuring [Braude] to go with her to a sex toys shop in Concordville, Pa., to purchase a vibrator, directing her on how to use it and instructing her to report back to her in the morning."
The case has been assigned to Chief U.S. District Judge Gregory M. Sleet. The firm has not yet filed any response to the suit.
