On October 28th, former staff-attorney, Kisshia Simmons-Grant, filed a lawsuit against Quinn Emanuel in New York City alleging race discrimination.  Ms. Simmons-Grant worked for the law firm from November, 2006 to August, 2010, as part of a group of 20-25 staff attorneys.  The group was paid on an hourly basis, and Ms. Simmons-Grant claims that they were paid only when the law firm gave them assignments.

Ms. Simmons-Grant, who is African-American, alleges that she suffered race discrimination because her supervisor routinely assigned more work to the White staff attorneys, even though she was comparably qualified.  As a result, there were several periods of time when she was not paid because she had no work assignments.  Ms. Simmons-Grant alleges that she complained several times, but the law firm did nothing to resolve the situation.  Instead, the law firm constructively discharged her employment by giving her no choice but to quit after she complained of racial bias.

Ms. Simmons-Grant sued for racial discrimination and retaliation in a New York Federal Court.  She seeks unspecified compensatory damages for past and future lost earnings and emotional distress.  Ms. Simmons-Grant also seeks punitive damages for what she claims were willful violations of federal, state and local civil rights laws.

Quinn Emanuel partner Robert Juman called the complaint “frivolous”.

Contact our office to speak to an experienced NYC & NJ employment lawyer regarding employment discrimination, retaliation, constructive discharge and wrongful termination.