U.S. Women's National Soccer Team forward Megan Rapinoe (#15) in action during friendly game against Mexico as preparation for 2019 Women's World Cup in Harrison, New Jersey. (Shutterstock.com)

The president of the U.S. Soccer Federation on Wednesday announced it was bringing on Latham & Watkins after the group and its lawyers at Seyfarth Shaw argued in federal court that the U.S. Women's National Team has less "skill" than the men's team.

But at this point, it's unclear whether U.S. Soccer's decision to hire Latham means the federation will fire Seyfarth or the two firms will work together to push back again the class action claims made by female U.S. Soccer players, who have alleged the federation discriminates against them by paying players on the men's team more money.

In a statement apologizing for U.S. Soccer's motion—which was filed in response to the women's team's motion for summary judgment—federation president Carlos Cordeiro said the group is "making immediate changes."

"I have asked the firm of Latham & Watkins to join and guide our legal strategy going forward," Cordeiro said. "I have made it clear to our legal team that, even as we debate facts and figures in the course of this case, we must do so with the utmost respect not only for our women's national team players but for all female athletes around the world. As we do, we will continue to work to resolve this suit in the best interest of everyone involved."

As of press time, there have been no withdrawal or appearance filings in the case docket for the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. A spokesman for Seyfarth declined to comment; spokesmen for Latham and U.S. Soccer did not respond to requests for comment as of press time.

While being represented by Seyfarth, U.S. Soccer argued the women's team does not have a claim under the Equal Pay Act because the men and women's team "do not perform equal work requiring equal skill, effort, and responsibility under similar working conditions."

"Plaintiffs ask the court to conclude that the ability required of an WNT player is equal to the ability required of an MNT player, as a relative matter, by ignoring the materially higher level of speed and strength required to perform the job of an MNT player," the federation argued.

U.S. Soccer pointed to statements made by the women's players, who were quoted by the federation as saying the women's national team could not compete against men's teams because they are stronger and faster.

"Nor is it a 'sexist stereotype' to recognize the different levels of speed and strength required for the two jobs, as plaintiffs' counsel contend. On the contrary, it is indisputable "science," as even plaintiff [Carli] Lloyd described it in her testimony," the federation argued.

The federation's filing—which attracted widespread criticism, including from sponsors such as Budweiser, Coca-Cola, Deloitte and Nike—was made on Monday, the day after International Women's Day.

The Seyfarth lawyers representing U.S. Soccer in the case include Chicago partners Ellen McLaughlin, Noah Finkel and Brian Stolzenbach, San Francisco partners Giovanna Ferrari and Chantelle Egan, and Atlanta partner Kyllan Kershaw. Stolzenbach signed the brief.

This isn't Latham's first time working with U.S. Soccer. Per the The New York Times in 2016, the firm represented the federation in contract negotiations with the women's team. The women's team alleged in their lawsuit that, while negotiating their current contract, U.S. Soccer "rejected requests for compensation for the WNT players that would have been at least equal to that afforded to the male MNT players."

Latham also represented U.S. Soccer when it successfully fought off an antitrust lawsuit from a sports management company in December.

In November, a federal judge certified the class action lawsuit the women's team filed against U.S. Soccer after finding the players on the Women's National Team were paid less per game than their male counterparts.

"This injury is concrete—the proposed class representatives were injured by defendant's compensation policy because they were in fact paid less on a per game basis than the [Men's National Team]," U.S. District Judge R. Gary Klausner wrote. "Indeed, plaintiffs have offered evidentiary proof that had they been paid on the same terms as the [Men's National Team], they would have earned more money per game and, as a result, more money per year over the course of the limitations period."

The Women's National Team, which has won four World Cups, is being represented by lawyers from Winston & Strawn.

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