• Duane Morris allegedly misclassified nonequity partners, illegally withheld compensation, and underpaid non-white attorneys.
• The suit claims that the firm shifted some of its tax obligations and operating expenses onto nonequity partners in an effort to boost its profitability.
• It also alleges that the opaque nature of the committee's decisions perpetuates gender and racial discrimination.

Duane Morris was hit with a class action suit in California federal court Wednesday over an alleged “systemic misclassification” scheme against its nonequity partners and claims of discriminatory pay decisions on the basis of race and gender.

The suit, filed in the Northern District of California by Black female nonequity partner Meagan Garland against Duane Morris, its equity partners, and its ancillary tax accounting practice, claims that nonequity partners, despite being taxed as partners, function legally as employees at the firm given the stability of their compensation regardless of overall firm performance and their lack of influence over firm policy decisions.

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