In a recent racial discrimination lawsuit against Davis Polk, a former employee of the law firm, Kaloma Cardwell, alleges that he was unjustly fired in response to his complaints about racial bias within the firm. This case is noteworthy due to the rare decision for it to proceed to trial, as many such claims are usually resolved before reaching the courtroom.
According to Cardwell, he was unjustly excluded from team emails concerning the cases he was working on, and he found it difficult to get eye contact reciprocated from more senior members of the firm, which contributed to a feeling of outer isolation. Further details about the exclusion can be found here.
One of the witnesses in the trial, Rocio Clausen, a lawyer who formerly served as a professional development manager at Davis Polk, remarked that Cardwell had a relaxed and ‘cavalier’ body language during meetings. Clausen also iterated that Cardwell refused help and worked fewer hours than other associates in the mergers and acquisitions (M&A) group, which was very upsetting to her. Full testimony can be found at this ABA Journal article.
Cardwell’s demeanor and alleged work patterns have raised questions among legal professionals about the subjective nature of assessments and performance evaluations, and reminded us that appearances can often mislead. One cannot determine a person’s level of stress or workload from their behavior or body language: further insights on this topic can be found
here.
This is not the first time Davis Polk has found themselves facing accusations of racial discrimination, as documented in a prior lawsuit. This ongoing trial emphasizes the complex nature of workplace dynamics and the pivotal role of racial bias within the legal profession, that is still an area to be well-addressed.