Jackson Jambalaya

Sloppy

Shark fight!

Had to read too deep to figure out it's alleged to be race discrimination. Why not point that out up front?

12:59 - I see nothing sloppy. What are you seeing that you think is sloppy? Sounds like a standard, thorough and uniform EEOC complaint to me. Only thing missing would be specifics of discrimination, which I'm sure would come out at trial. Settlement approacheth.

Sounds like someone doesn't want to get off the merry-go-round to make room for others. Typically this is all spelled out in the partner agreement. Apparently not here or more likely someone wants to change the agreement after the fact. I don't know the gentleman but would assume he's at least 70, probably older.

He left out violation of the Migratory Bird Act

My guess: He has clearly reached retirement age. His 401k tanked big time in 2009. He received notice and tried to negotiate a rich buy-out, which didn't work, so he and Ogden got out an old Torts textbook and copied the table of contents into a Complaint. They're hoping now for a rich settlement with W&E's insurer.

One suspects that the Plaintiff has evidence of another partner or two having engaged in some hanky-panky with staff.

He has promptly been taken off the website. They have only like three or four African-Americans working at the firm now.

Attn 2:08 His last year playing football at Ole Miss was 1975 (I think). That probably mean he is around 66 or 67.

I'm not sure I read the same complaint as the foregoing commenters. Mr. Lawrence specifically disclaimed any federal causes of action, so it is NOT an EEOC complaint. He is alleging that he was forced out after reporting illegal/unethical behavior on the part of the firm, to the other principals of the firm. The alleged behavior includes discrimination (against others, not him) and poaching attorneys and clients from other firms. It looks like a well-pled complaint to me. Did y'all even read it?

Reading is fundamental

3:01 - I didn't say it IS an EEOC complaint. I said the language in the complaint is typical, textbook stuff the EEOC likes to see when they review an incoming complaint. However, race discrimination is indeed a federal cause of action, and we can't be sure who his complaint alleges suffered discrimination, since he carefully avoided specifying. Nobody with common sense, much less an attorney (as if they have common sense), would allege race-discrimination having suffered none (as opposed to alleging sexual harassment in the workplace when not directly involved, which is common). The man's attorney definitely pulled out a 10 gauge sawed off shotgun, attempting to hit any and all targets in the woods.

Dick is white.

Now read it again

If parts of your complaint don't pass muster under Rule 12, it's sloppy and the attorney filing it is lazy. This is a cut and paste, shotgun approach, generic plaintiff's complaint. But it's Hinds County, so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Prior commentators may well have more insight than I into the overall situation, but from an outsider's POV, it would certainly be, er, unusual, that an attorney like Lawrence would enter into the public record unfounded or unwarranted allegations against the only law firm for which he has ever worked and been a equity partner for the last 35 or so years. Even if a coupla-few years of income were involved. Again, just an outsider's observation.

The decision to hire Ogden in a discrimination case is interesting, to say the least. Not exactly his typical area of practice.

This is Mittittippi, reading is optional (and generally unexpected)

Ogden has not tried an employment case in his entire career.

@3:56 PM Not sure if you're referring to yours or his, but it makes no difference.
(And I don't need to read the Complaint again.)

Online lawyers aside, MS law is that a complaint doesn’t even have to specify any wrongful conduct. If it pleads recognizable causes of action sufficient to put the defendant on notice, it’s fine. We haven’t adopted the feds’ Twombly/Iqbal reading of Rule 12.

Shakespeare was right, and we'll only miss a few of them.

5:52 pm

If you want chaos true

I played football with Dick at Chastain Jr. High. Undefeated and unscored on. Smart guy, and a gentleman. Dick should be 65.

Online lawyers aside, the complaint alleges fraud.

The complaint does allege “fraud and misrepresentation.” Fraud has to be pled with particularity. Even if that cause of action is struck on motion to dismiss, the entire complaint won’t be, Also, I think Rule12 provides that the plaintiff “shall” be granted leave to amend the complaint if a 12(b)(6) motion is granted, if I remember correctly. Considering some of the comments, plus the penis joke, I congratulate the poster on successful completion of his first semester of law school.

Sounds like an age discrimination and/or nonsolicitation issue. Maybe he was being pushed into retirement while previous partners were allowed to continue working after reaching the same age. Or others left the firm when reaching retirement age and were allowed to take clients and he wasn't.

While I admittedly don’t know details a big factor in all this is the contraction of the legal field in MS. In years past, one could stay at a large firm like this and there was plenty of work to go around. Now, if you aren’t bringing in your own business it is hard to stay on. Simply being a smart and capable lawyer isn’t good enough anymore. Not sure this is what many of the civil defense lawyers who supported “tort reform” in the early 2000s had in mind.

I appears to me that Lawrence is alleging that he was fired for reporting illegal conduct ie discrimination, etc. That is called a ?McArn claim in Mississippi and is the only exception to the "employment-at-will doctrine" that Mississippi has hung onto for far too long. He also seems to be pleading tortious interference with employment. As a previous person noted in the comments, notice pleading is the standard in Mississippi, but the fraud claim does have to be plead is particularity. It will be interesting to see how Watkins & Eager responds. That firm is not noted for having a lot of checks and balances in place, as was the case when a partner's paralegal embezzled quite a bit of money by submitting duplicate expense reports for the partner and then keeping the money. Curious to see if Watkins & Eager just pays Lawrence to go away or if they are willing to have their potential dirty laundry aired out in public.

This likely legit complaint couldn’t happen to a more “deserving” bunch controlled mainly by old white men.

Very interesting. Could he have gone to the authorities with his evidence and helped himself and the community?

I can't believe some of you are lawyers as you claim.
If you are, you need to take some time studying how successful law firms are managed and why it's advantageous for senior partners to move into positions as mentors and "rainmakers".
Also, large firms have set age 70 as retirement age since Social Security and 401K changes. If a firm hasn't changed accordingly, the firm should fire their business manager and those who are law review from prestigious schools should avoid firms who don't change with the times.
There are serious claims in the above filing and not a one of you knows whether or not there is adequate supporting evidence.
A good lawyer ought to have enough respect for the law not to publicly armchair like a lay person or a two bit defense attorney who has only the hope of corrupting a jury pool to win his case.

9:14, it seems to me Mr. Lawrence is in fact taking his evidence to the proper authority, that being the Circuit Court of Hinds County. This apparently being a civil (non-criminal) matter, he filed a civil action. I believe that we, collectively, have been so inundated over the years with self-serving propaganda about the evils and abuses of the judicial system that we kind of forget that it is 1/3 of our country.

WE just absorbed a black guy from Birmingham firm in an effort to shore up some work

I bet this has to do with that

7:20 -- Boy is that the truth.

Jackson's legal contraction is still continuing to this day, with experienced big firm lawyers fighting over scraps in ways that would've been embarrassing twenty years ago.

It may be tough for the senior guys, but it REALLY sucks for young associates. Rather than mentor you and hand off big clients in their early 60's, you have partners hanging around forever and actively trying to steal whatever business you can bring in.

The “black guy from Birmingham” is Lanier Brown, one of the best trial lawyers in the South. He works in Birmingham and joined WE over two years ago, so this dispute has nothing to do with him.

January 7 @ 3:38 - How can you be so cock-sure? A charge of race-discrimination could easily involve a black employee hired two year ago, regardless of your parenthetical comment that he's one of the best trial lawyers in the South. You may not know this, but discrimination works both ways. And side-ways.

Because I know the players.