The jurors who will decide whether Davis Polk & Wardwell engaged in retaliation against a Black associate saw examples of how that associate began raising concerns about diversity and inclusion at the firm on Thursday, while the judge cautioned the jury that one such email did not constitute protected activity.

Davis Polk’s attorneys at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison maintain that plaintiff Kaloma Cardwell, who started at Davis Polk in 2014 and left in 2018, was fired for poor performance and not as any form of retaliation.