A top in-house lawyer at the U.S. affiliate of luxury brand company LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton Inc. sued her company Tuesday, claiming she was sexually harassed by a male colleague, punished for reporting it and was told by the employer that the behavior at issue was “mere flirting” and par for the course in a French company.

Andowah Newton, vice president of legal affairs and litigation counsel at LVMH, retained Pierce Bainbridge Beck Price & Hecht in the suit against LVMH. The French multinational luxury goods conglomerate does tens of billions in business every year and owns brands including Dior, Fendi and Givenchy.