Griesing sued Greenberg Traurig on December 3 after the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission found "reasonable cause to believe" the firm discriminated against women attorneys by compensating them less than their male counterparts, according to the complaint.
Griesing, who worked at the firm from April 2007 through January 2010, alleged she was told to look for other employment after complaining about Greenberg Traurig's compensation policies, which she said created a "boys club of origination" that stifled women's ability to generate business and bill as many hours as men.
Griesing now has her own firm, Griesing Law, with eight attorneys in Philadelphia.
Sanford said at the time Griesing filed her complaint that, while Griesing was the only member of the suit at that time, he expects the class to reach nearly 215 members, who worked at the firm dating back to 2007. He said they are seeking $200 million in damages.
Sanford also said at the time, in response to Greenberg Traurig's motion to compel arbitration, that he was confident Griesing would get her day in court.
Greenberg Traurig, however, adamantly denied Griesing's claims.
"The lawsuit filed today by Francine Griesing and her attorneys is an affront to the accomplished, talented women of Greenberg Traurig, who, like all of our lawyers, are compensated based on merit," Greenberg Traurig executive committee member Hilarie Bass said in the statement when the suit was filed. "It is nothing more than a financially motivated publicity stunt without merit, backed by neither fact nor law."
Bass continued that the complaint misrepresents the EEOC investigation, which she said included only a small number of women in one office of the firm and in which Griesing was the only complainant.
Attorneys for Griesing and Greenberg Traurig weren't immediately available Wednesday for comment on the latest filing in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
According to Griesing's complaint, Greenberg Traurig has a closed compensation system in which Rosenbaum is the sole decision-maker on all promotion and compensation matters, with the advice of four other male shareholders who serve as the compensation committee.
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