The Good Fight

You should always fight the good fight. It's worth it. When I was clerking at a boutique plaintiff's firm while in law school, I was fortunate enough to work on a case against a nation-wide gym. It was particularly egregious sexual harassment. The client is a relate-able single mom. This was sexual harassment that made me nauseous, and the harasser was a scary drug user.

Less than 10 years before our case in a much more conservative county, the gym had received a $1.1 million verdict against it for similar acts of sexual harassment. Did they learn? Of course not. Did their defense attorneys find a much better way to deal with harassment that they knew was running rampant (as testified to by a gym-employed HR person)? Nope. They did, however, come up with a way to avoid liability, public recognition of the sexual harassment, and million dollar verdicts. How so? Arbitration.

Pre-dispute, binding arbitration agreements as a condition of employment are not only unconscionable, but also strip individuals of their 6th Amendment rights to a jury and public trial...oh yeah, and ANY kind of appeal. Fair? Hell no! It has been compared to David and Goliath, but taking David's slingshot away. It's referred to as the Repeat Player Effect. Big corporations hire arbitrators who want to be re-hired in the future...but somehow that's not a conflict. And they have high-powered attorneys on payroll ready to make motions to stay and compel arbitration at the drop of a hat.

The EEOC, American Arbitration Association, and JAMS (another national arbitration association, but the I can never remember what the initial stand for), have ALL come out AGAINST these kinds of mandatory, binding, pre-dispute agreements. The EEOC recognizes that arbitration allows for institutionalized discrimination and robs the government of any means of tracking discrimination or enforcing employee rights against those companies.

So this case that I worked on went to arbitration where the arbitrator's decisions and eventual award were so obviously in contradiction to the law, we had to find out where he got his law degree. Turns out he didn't have one. He lied. Defense firm (which was recently bought by one of the world's largest employer-defending firms) lied. The defendants, by and through their counsel, lied. All were found to have committed actual fraud.

For those who don't know, vacating an arbitration award is a standard higher than abuse of discretion. In layman's terms, it's damn-near impossible, hence the reference to David and Goliath.

My former boss and I worked on the motion to vacate with fervor (for several reasons, but primarily because the client had really gotten the short end of many sticks). And when the judge found actual fraud and remanded the case for trial, I was guardedly excited. The appeals court was likely to overturn the decision. But they didn't. And then it was appealed to the Supreme Court of that state, which consists of 9 ultra-conservative Republicans who have a track record of stripping people of their rights. I was terrified they would grant the petition for cert.

But they declined cert on Friday. - WE WON.-

I wept. Not only was this the best thing that could have happened for our client (and it likely means a 7-figure or higher settlement), but it reinforced who I believe I am and what I'm capable of doing. This was the good fight. Most attorneys, knowing what they were up against and the client's inability to pay (contingency case), would have refused the representation. We fought the good fight. And in this shining moment, we actually won. It reminded me that I was born to do this. This is what God has in mind for me. This is who I am.

And I had to wonder...Even though I want so badly to have passed this bar, will I be as happy when that happens? I honestly don't think so because this was not only a reflection of my abilities, but also a vindication of peoples' right to be free from sexual harassment at the workplace, and a giant blow to binding pre-dispute arbitration clauses as a condition of employment. This is so much bigger than just me. My boss and I worked and slaved and fought the good fight.

And we won.

I just hope that I did pass this bar so I can start doing this kind of work as an attorney and not a law clerk. To my former boss's credit, on this case, he treated me like a colleague and not support staff. He valued my opinions, writing, and judgment. And for this, I am extremely grateful. Because of him, I can have some ownership in this outcome. Now I want to do it with a license. I want my signature on the bottom next time.

So please, God, please let me have passed this time. It's the good fight.