Ex-Steptoe Associate Slams Firm's Bid to Arbitrate Gender Bias Suit
A former Steptoe & Johnson associate urged a Los Angeles federal court not to send a proposed class action into private arbitration, arguing that case law should prevent the firm from burying her gender bias allegations in a secret proceeding.
August 23, 2017 at 03:12 PM
4 minute read
A former Steptoe & Johnson associate urged a Los Angeles federal court not to send a proposed class action into private arbitration, arguing that case law should prevent the firm from burying her gender bias allegations in a secret proceeding.
Lawyers for former Steptoe associate Ji-In Houck—a 2011 Georgetown University Law Center graduate now working as a litigator at the Stalwart Law Group in Los Angeles—filed a brief on Monday opposing Steptoe's motion to compel arbitration of Houck's gender bias allegations.
courtesy photo
The filing marks the latest in the case since Steptoe, on Aug. 10, forcefully denied Houck's allegations that the firm has a pay gap between men and women lawyers. Houck, who initially joined Steptoe as a contract lawyer and later became an associate, alleges that she was paid less than her male and other peers at the firm, despite taking on similar work.
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