The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has upheld dismissal of a case brought by a black lawyer against Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld who claimed she was fired as an associate because of her race. Tameka Simmons claimed in her civil rights lawsuit that a slump in the economy in 2009 was used by Akin Gump as a pretext for a race-based firing. But the circuit, by summary order in Simmons v. Akin Gump, 11-4480, said the deep recession that began in 2008 and its effect on Akin Gump’s legal business drove layoffs and was not used as cover for dismissing Simmons.
Upholding a 2011 grant of summary judgment to the firm by Southern District Judge Jed Rakoff, Judges Robert Sack, Denny Chin and Raymond Lohier Jr. said that “the circumstances here do not give rise to a reasonable inference of discrimination due to her race.” The panel continued, “The undisputed facts below showed that the Firmlike many other law firms throughout the countrywas experiencing significant economic difficulties in 2009. The bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers in 2008 decreased the revenue and average billable hours of the New York Investment Funds Practice Group … for the following year by 26 [percent] and 14 [percent], respectively.”
