Former Troutman Pepper associate, Gita Sankano, has filed a discrimination claim against the major law firm in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The claim alleges that Sankano, the only Black female attorney in the firm’s D.C. office, suffered racial discrimination and retaliation in violation of Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act of 1866 and the Washington, D.C., Human Rights Act.
As prima facie evidence of the alleged discrimination, Sankano points to her 2020 and 2021 positive work reviews within the Multifamily Housing Group of the firm. However, she claims the situation took a turn for the worse after a senior partner retired, and she began working with partner Matthew Bowsher. The National Law Journal reports that the suit alleges that Bowsher frequently belittled Sankano and questioned her cognitive ability through aggressive emails.
According to Sankano, the racial discrimination reached a climax with a “demeaning, dehumanizing, and demoralizing email” from Bowsher. Allegedly, when Sankano raised a complaint about this behavior, she was subsequently dismissed from the firm.
The complaint cites an email sent by Bowsher to Sankano, which began in a concerning manner: “I’m concerned that you thought you were ‘clear’. In fact, you were the opposite of clear…” With an unidentified error at the heart of the dispute, the email further attacked Sankano’s basic communication skills.
Upon raising her concern with the HR department, Sankano alleges that she suffered retaliation. The filing claims the firm took 77 days to investigate Bowsher’s allegedly discriminatory email, with the outcome of the investigation voicing that while the email was ‘inappropriate’, it was not racist.
Since Sankano’s lawsuit, the firm has denied the allegations, stating that her employment was terminated based on performance reasons. Sankano continues to claim that her dismissal was entirely retaliatory and cites numerous instances of positive work reviews during her term at Troutman Pepper.
For her legal representation, Sankano has sought the services of Wigdor Law, with Partner Michael Willemin lamenting the ongoing discrimination against Black women at law firms, while voicing support for those ‘brave enough to report discrimination in the workplace.
Gita Sankano expressed her drive for filing the case, highlighting that her lawsuit seeks to draw attention to the discrimination that Black female professionals continue to experience even in the modern time of 2024.