In the first day of testimony in a retaliation trial involving Davis Polk & Wardwell, a former firm employee said she was upset by then-associate Kaloma Cardwell’s refusal to take on work in the credit group when his colleagues were busy.

Cardwell, the only Black male in the class of Davis Polk associates starting in 2014, sued the firm in 2019, claiming he experienced negative consequences and was eventually fired after raising concerns about racial discrimination at the firm.