Employment partners John Barber and Jeffrey Ranen left Lewis Brisbois in May to form their own firm, Barber Ranen, taking nearly 140 lawyers with them. Shortly after, an email leak showed that Lewis Brisbois got an “anonymous complaint” about the former attorneys, and an investigation that uncovered some of the worst emails I’ve seen from any workplace.
The two men had casually used language in dozens of emails that covered the waterfront of offensive—racist, sexist, and anti-LBGTQ+ slurs as well as antisemitic comments.
The fallout has put careers and brands in a tailspin and is a thought-provoking moment for general counsel as they think about risk. Obviously, this has wrecked the careers of Barber and Ranen, who have resigned from their new firm and must be contemplating how they can appear in front of judges or attract clients.
Their problems may just be beginning, with the potential of disciplinary proceedings with their respective bar associations or discrimination lawsuits.
Their new firm (now rebranded Daugherty Lordan) has to be reeling—dozens of attorneys put their trust and careers in these lawyers when they left Lewis Brisbois and now face life in a new firm that’s without its two lead...
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