Employment lawyers in New Jersey and the rest of Country will be taking note of a recent employment discrimination case from the Third Circuit. The Third Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a female lawyer cannot sue her firm for sex discrimination if her status as a shareholder and director gives her a percentage of firm profits and the power to participate in firm governance. Alyson Kirleis' four-year court battle with her firm, Pittsburgh's Dickie McCamey & Chilcote, came to an end as the Third Circuit issued a four-page opinion affirming dismissal of her suit. "We cannot agree that Kirleis is a mere employee," Senior U.S. Circuit Judge Jane Roth wrote in Kirleis v. Dickie, McCamey & Chilcote. The Plaintiff's appeal had the potential for breaking legal ground if she had succeeded in establishing that some partners are not considered equal to their colleagues and ought to be allowed to pursue employment-discrimination claims such as suing for equal pay.
The Plaintiff was represented by Friedman & Friedman. The Defendant was represented by Jackson Lewis.
