Major Lindsey & Africa, one of the country’s leading legal recruiting firms, is facing allegations that it “blackballed” a Black female associate. These claims were lodged in a complaint filed in a Maryland District Court. The plaintiff is Gita Sankano, who previously sued her ex-employer, law firm Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders, for discrimination. The current charge states that Major Lindsey & Africa lied about open positions’ availability, discontinuing its relationship with Ms. Sankano.
Further, Major Lindsey & Africa’s managing directors, Randi Lewis and Andy Ufberg, along with the head of the associate practice group, Eliza Stoker, are named defendants. The complainant alleges that Ms. Lewis endeavoured to dissuade her from launching her lawsuit against Troutman Pepper, predicting that if Ms. Sankano did, she would be unable to secure future employment.
Ms. Sankano had sued Troutman Pepper in January for alleged racial discrimination and retaliation after her dismissal following complaints about bias.
The new complaint accuses the recruiting firm of making an “unlawful decision” on behalf of its clienteles that minorities protesting against discrimination are “undeserving” of employment. Michael Willemin, partner at Wigdor, who is representing Ms. Sankano in both cases, emphasised that fear of retaliation is a primary reason discrimination remains largely underreported in the workplace.
A spokesperson for Major Lindsey & Africa stressed that the firm is taking Ms. Sankano’s allegations very seriously. They also pointed out that their advice was simply professional, cautioning that law firms might be reluctant to hire someone involved in legal action against another law firm.
Mr. Willemin’s firm, Wigdor, has also brought cases against Goldman Sachs Group Inc for gender bias and alleged sexual harassment at Fox News, amongst others. Troutman is being represented by Littler Mendelson.
The case details can be viewed here and the previously launched case here.