We represented plaintiff Enrichetta Ravina, a former Columbia University assistant professor against Columbia. The complaint documented how the senior leadership of Columbia allowed a tenured professor to sexually harass and obstruct the work of our client, including retaliating against her for protesting the harassment, revoking a year of leave, and putting her on an accelerated tenure process that made it impossible for her to succeed. The jury in the SDNY awarded Ravina $1.25 million as compensation for workplace retaliation, ordering the university to pay $750,000 in compensatory damages, and Professor Bekaert to pay $500,000 in punitive damages.
What’s the biggest lesson you learned practicing law?
Exercising good judgment is the most important characteristic of a lawyer. Recently, what’s been the most significant change in your practice area and how have you adjusted?