Letter to Sen. Kamala Harris
Today I wrote to Sen. Kamala Harris about DLA Piper’s refusal to release our client, former DLA Piper partner Vanina Guerrero, from forced arbitration regarding her allegations of sexual assault at the hands of another DLA Piper partner, Louis Lehot. Senator Harris’ husband Douglas Emhoff is a DLA Piper partner who has earned millions of dollars there, including from clients likely billed by Mr. Lehot. In today’s letter we note that her brother-in-law Tony West, general counsel for Uber, did the right thing and eliminated forced arbitration for women alleging harm from sexual assaults when we pointed out that no woman considers that sexual assault is a reasonably foreseeable event (in the workplace or in an Uber) and therefore no woman can legally waive her right to access our public courts to litigate sexual assault claims. To suggest otherwise means that women in the U.S. agree that being the victim of sexual assault is an inevitable event in their lives — an appalling concept.
Mr. Emhoff needs to step up and demand similar action at DLA Piper or otherwise completely sever his association with the firm.
