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Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman has struck back hard at former partner Jeremy S. Pitcock, who last month filed a defamation suit against the firm over its issuing of a press release vaguely stating that he had been fired for “extremely inappropriate personal conduct.” Filing its own lawsuit against Mr. Pitcock today in Manhattan Supreme Court, Kasowitz Benson removed all vagueness, claiming the former head of the firm’s intellectual property practice had sexually harassed at least a dozen female associates and staff members.

The firm, represented by Sullivan & Cromwell’s Gandolfo V. DiBlasi, said in its 20-page complaint that Mr. Pitcock had engaged in a “pattern of suggestive comments, sexual innuendo, sexual propositions, sexually-oriented teasing, gender-specific jokes and obscene gestures.” In one instance, the firm claims, he “assigned” a junior associate to have drinks with him. He also allegedly made sexual advances to seven women at the firm’s 2007 holiday party, slapping one on the buttocks.

In his own complaint against the firm, Mr. Pitcock had acknowledged accompanying one female associate back to her apartment after a night of drinking and sharing a “brief, consensual kiss” before they both realized they were making a mistake. But the firm claims Mr. Pitcock forced himself on the woman, who had just started work at the firm, creating a frightening situation. “At half his size, she feared that he would again force physical intimacy with her,” the complaint states. The firm says it fired Mr. Pitcock shortly after it received complaints about his behavior at the holiday party.

In its suit, Kasowitz Benson is claiming breach of contract on the grounds that Mr. Pitcock violated the firm’s anti-harassment policy and breach of fiduciary duty for his alleged violation of the firm’s partnership agreement. The firm is further seeking a declaratory judgment that it has no liability to Mr. Pitcock. The ex-partner had asked for $90 million in damages, claiming the firm’s press release cost him a new position as a partner at Morgan & Finnegan. Kasowitz Benson had issued the statement in response to a report by legal news Web site IP Law 360, which said Morgan & Finnegan had “nabbed” Mr. Pitcock from Kasowitz Benson.

Mr. Pitcock’s lawyer, Craig Lanza of Balestriere Lanza, did not return calls seeking comment.

- Anthony Lin can be reached at anthony.lin@incisivemedia.com.

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