Aug 23 (Reuters) – A former Kirkland & Ellis associate on Wednesday defeated the law firm’s bid to dismiss her sex discrimination claims.
U.S. District Judge Haywood Gilliam of Oakland, California, kept Zoya Kovalenko’s bias, retaliation and defamation case against the law firm mostly intact, although the judge tossed most of Kovalenko’s claims against a group of current and former Kirkland partners.
“Taking plaintiff’s allegations as true, she essentially alleges that defendants consistently gave male associates preferential treatment at her own expense, such that her work life was unmanageable,” Gilliam wrote.
Kovalenko, who was a Kirkland associate for 10 months in 2020 and 2021, alleged that she received “high praise” at the firm until she complained she was treated unfairly compared to male associates who were also working on intellectual property litigation. She asserts that she was fired in September 2021 in retaliation for her complaints.
Kovalenko also alleged the firm and its partners overloaded her with work, knowing it would cut into her vacation time, while she was forced to take over a male associate’s assignment to ensure he had a work-free vacation.
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