Holding that a contract lawyer doing document review work for Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom “provided services that a machine could have provided,” the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit overruled a lower court Thursday and said the lawyer could proceed with his claim for overtime pay.
The appeals panel said David Lola’s complaint could not be dismissed on the grounds that he was an exempt professional under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, because Lola had pleaded facts sufficient to show he had not exercised any “independent legal judgment” when working for Skadden in North Carolina.
