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<i>Leadership:</i> No Immunity: Sexual Harassment & the Legal Industry

By John Hellerman
March 01, 2018

For members of a conservative industry that — literally — wrote the rulebook on sexual harassment, law firms need to be ready for a day of reckoning that seems inescapable (and may have already happened by the time this article is published). Right now, the focus is on Hollywood, mass media, Wall Street, Silicon Valley and politics, which are all professional arenas historically known to operate by their own set of rules that have been at equal turns brushed off as socially acceptable, emboldened after career-ending threats kept censure at bay, and vigorously defended in a courtroom. But the very shaky reality is that the lawyer standing beside every Kevin Spacey, Matt Lauer, Harold Ford, Jr., Travis Kalanick or Al Franken is most likely operating from his or her own 'house of cards.'

The sad fact is that no industry has ever been immune from sexual harassment issues. For legal professionals, the industry rumor mill suggests an accuser typically doesn't survive an accusation when the accused is a rainmaker. More commonly, the accuser is offered a settlement in exchange for signing a non-disclosure agreement and leaving quietly or, in some cases, decides to suffer in silence when faced with choices that for personal or professional reasons might prove debilitating.

Recent headlines would lead us to believe that those days are numbered. But law firm rainmakers are still seen as unicorns: rare and highly revered for their seemingly magical powers to win and retain business. Their efforts don't just feed their pride and their pockets; they support an entire — albeit fragile — ecosystem. Practices, budgets, hiring decisions, satellite offices and firm reputations are built around these individuals. There is seldom an immediately feasible or fiscally comparative Plan B.

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