Now that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has filed an age discrimination complaint against Sidley Austin Brown & Wood, what should other big firms do? Maybe nothing, at least not yet.
The case was just filed in January in the Northern District of Illinois. At press time Sidley (which is being represented by Paul Grossman of Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker) had not responded to the suit. If Sidley chooses to litigate, the case could be tied up in the courts for years. Still, law firm managers are watching the case closely. If the EEOC prevails, it could embolden lawyers who have been deequitized or asked to leave their firms to file discrimination suits.
