Fox Rothschild Turns to Fisher & Phillips for Defense in Sexual Harassment Case
The law firm already fired the lawyer whose alleged behavior was at the root of a complaint filed in December.
February 04, 2020 at 01:21 PM
3 minute read
The original version of this story was published on The Legal Intelligencer
Fisher & Phillips is representing Fox Rothschild in a case brought by a former paralegal who accused a New Jersey Fox Rothschild lawyer of sexual harassment and attempted rape.
Kathleen McLeod Caminiti entered her appearance Monday afternoon on behalf of the Philadelphia-based Am Law 100 firm. Caminiti is a partner in the New Jersey and New York offices of Fisher & Phillips and co-chairwoman of the firm's wage-and-hour and pay equity practice groups.
Former Fox Rothschild paralegal Stephanie Jones, 58, filed a complaint in December in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against Fox Rothschild and Ian Siminoff, who was based in the firm's Morristown, New Jersey, office. Her complaint alleged "pervasive unwanted sexual comments, advances, requests and other similar conduct" at the firm, including an attempted rape.
Siminoff, who was fired from the firm just hours after Jones lodged her complaint, has turned to a small litigation firm based in New York, Paduano & Weintraub, for his defense. Partner Meredith Cavallaro and of counsel Courtney Fain entered their representation in early January.
The complaint included a lengthy list of instances of alleged sexual harassment. Jones claimed that Siminoff asked her if she enjoyed oral sex and sent her dozens of sexually explicit text messages, including photographs of his penis.
On another occasion, Siminoff closed the door of his offices and fondled Jones' breasts, the complaint alleged. At a different time, standing at the law office's coffee machine, he put his hands under her dress and grabbed her genitals, the complaint alleged.
In January 2015, Jones alleged, Siminoff attempted to rape her in the New Jersey office and she fought him off.
Jones alleged that she raised concerns about Siminoff as early as 2014. But in a statement in December, Fox Rothschild contended that Jones did not report any instances of harassment by Siminoff before she was fired from the firm in June 2017.
"The filing omits facts and contains inaccuracies. We believe once brought to light, those facts will demonstrate that Fox Rothschild takes any reporting of harassment as serious and conducts thorough investigations of such reported allegations, as noted in our Harassment-Free Workplace Policy," the December statement said.
The firm's lawyer, Caminiti, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
Siminoff's lawyers, Cavallaro and Fain, also did not respond to a request for comment.
Tyrone Blackburn, who is representing Jones, also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Read More
Fox Rothschild Fires Lawyer Accused of Repeated Sexual Harassment, Assault
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