An aerial view of the city of San Francisco skyline and the Golden Gate Bridge in California, U.S., October 28, 2021. REUTERS/Carlos Barria
(Reuters) - A San Francisco attorney on Tuesday sued her former employer, law firm Redgrave, and its counsel, national employment law firm Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, accusing them of trying to force her into arbitration based on an agreement she never signed.
Plaintiff Karen Hourigan said in her San Francisco federal court lawsuit that making her arbitrate employment claims against Redgrave would violate California law and a federal law prohibiting mandatory arbitration of employee sexual harassment claims.
Jonathan Redgrave, managing partner of Redgrave, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit, nor did a spokesperson for the firm.
An Ogletree spokesperson also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The lawsuit does not describe Hourigan's underlying employment claims against the Redgrave firm. It says Hourigan obtained a notice of right-to-sue letter from the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing to "pursue her employment claims, including those alleging unlawful sexual harassment."
Hourigan is representing herself in the lawsuit. She said she had no comment on the allegations.
A former equity partner at Redgrave, Hourigan said in her complaint that she re-joined the firm in May 2021 as an at-will employee. She said she was placed on paid administrative...
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