Washington Lawyer - March 2019 - 19

F

rustrated by a history of harassment and
discrimination in the legal profession, a group
of Harvard Law students formed the Pipeline
Parity Project last year. One of its first initiatives
was to organize a boycott of law firms that
require employees to sign mandatory arbitration
agreements. Students say that mandatory arbitration
agreements pressure employees to resolve workplace
disputes, such as claims of sexual harassment, outside
of the court system. Forced arbitration, nondisclosure
agreements, and other non-negotiable contract
terms "silence victims of sexual harassment, assault,
and discrimination," the group states on its website.

Shutterstock

The Pipeline Parity Project focuses on particular Big Law firms that want to
recruit on campus. The group urges law students to refuse interviews with
certain firms until they promise to stop making employees sign mandatory
arbitration agreements.
In November Kirkland & Ellis LLP, the boycott's primary target because of its
decade-long forced arbitration policy, announced it would no longer require
arbitration of any employee disputes brought by associates and summer
associates. A few weeks later, the firm announced it was also dropping
mandatory arbitration agreements for non-attorney staff members. A spokesperson for Kirkland & Ellis declined to comment.
Molly Coleman and Vail Kohnert-Yount, Harvard Law 2Ls and members of
the Pipeline Parity Project, say their group has made a good start, but that
ultimately it wants all Big Law firms to get rid of arbitration and other coercive
agreements for all their employees. Kohnert-Yount says the Pipeline Parity
Project is committed to exposing the "systems that keep pervasive harassment
and discrimination in place."
"We are standing here on the precipice of our careers looking at the options,
and we think we have no choice but to do something," she says. "We have
read accounts of sexual harassment and discrimination that can occur at law
firms, and those accounts made us physically ill. We had to do something."

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MARCH 2019

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WASHINGTON LAWYER 19



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Washington Lawyer - March 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Washington Lawyer - March 2019

Digital Extras
Your Voice
From Our President
Practice Management
Calendar of Events
Government & Gavel
The Women's Wave & Its Effects on Politics
Features: #Me Too & A Time Of Reckoning for the Law
Feature: Righting The Gender Imbalance In Big Law
Feature: A Day in The Life of Two Women Lawyers
Global & Domestic Outlook
Worth Reading
Media Bytes
Attorney Briefs
Ask The Ethics Experts
Disciplinary Summaries
The Pro Bono Efect
Community & Connections
Washington Lawyer - March 2019 - Cover1
Washington Lawyer - March 2019 - Cover2
Washington Lawyer - March 2019 - 1
Washington Lawyer - March 2019 - 2
Washington Lawyer - March 2019 - 3
Washington Lawyer - March 2019 - Digital Extras
Washington Lawyer - March 2019 - Your Voice
Washington Lawyer - March 2019 - From Our President
Washington Lawyer - March 2019 - 7
Washington Lawyer - March 2019 - Practice Management
Washington Lawyer - March 2019 - 9
Washington Lawyer - March 2019 - Calendar of Events
Washington Lawyer - March 2019 - 11
Washington Lawyer - March 2019 - Government & Gavel
Washington Lawyer - March 2019 - 13
Washington Lawyer - March 2019 - The Women's Wave & Its Effects on Politics
Washington Lawyer - March 2019 - 15
Washington Lawyer - March 2019 - 16
Washington Lawyer - March 2019 - 17
Washington Lawyer - March 2019 - Features: #Me Too & A Time Of Reckoning for the Law
Washington Lawyer - March 2019 - 19
Washington Lawyer - March 2019 - 20
Washington Lawyer - March 2019 - 21
Washington Lawyer - March 2019 - Feature: Righting The Gender Imbalance In Big Law
Washington Lawyer - March 2019 - 23
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Washington Lawyer - March 2019 - 25
Washington Lawyer - March 2019 - Feature: A Day in The Life of Two Women Lawyers
Washington Lawyer - March 2019 - 27
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Washington Lawyer - March 2019 - Global & Domestic Outlook
Washington Lawyer - March 2019 - 35
Washington Lawyer - March 2019 - Worth Reading
Washington Lawyer - March 2019 - Media Bytes
Washington Lawyer - March 2019 - Attorney Briefs
Washington Lawyer - March 2019 - Ask The Ethics Experts
Washington Lawyer - March 2019 - Disciplinary Summaries
Washington Lawyer - March 2019 - 41
Washington Lawyer - March 2019 - 42
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Washington Lawyer - March 2019 - The Pro Bono Efect
Washington Lawyer - March 2019 - 45
Washington Lawyer - March 2019 - Community & Connections
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