Law firm McDermott resolves bias lawsuit by Black ex-associate

By Reuters News

By David Thomas

Sept 30 (Reuters) - Law firm McDermott Will & Schulte has resolved a lawsuit by a Black former associate who alleged she experienced "egregious and open racism" there, including at an event where participants answered “white pride,” “white skin,” and “white power” to questions about their workplace feelings.

Attorneys for the firm and for plaintiff Ashley Ogedegbe said in a joint filing in Chicago federal court on Wednesday that the lawsuit was being dismissed.

Michael Willemin, a lawyer for Ogedegbe at New York-based employment law firm Wigdor, said in a statement that they are "pleased to have reached a resolution of this matter and are proud of our record of aggressively litigating cases on behalf of employees alleging discrimination and retaliation in the workplace."

A spokesperson for McDermott, which denied Ogedegbe's allegations of wrongdoing in court papers, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

After Ogedegbe was hired in 2022 as a digital health associate at McDermott Will & Emery, she attended an event at a firm retreat where other participants answered “white pride,” “white skin,” “white power” and "Nazism" when asked what they are proud of and what they hide about themselves at work, according to the lawsuit.

McDermott admitted in court filings that words like "white pride" and "white power" appeared on screen at the associate retreat, but said it did not condone or endorsed the comments. The firm said it investigated, but it could not determine who submitted the comments.

The lawsuit said Black lawyers at McDermott are "regularly disregarded when they are not being used to try to convince clients and the outside world that the firm is diverse." She alleged she was excluded from work and training opportunities due to her race, including getting pulled off the leadership of a Louisiana-based transaction in favor of two white women.

After complaining internally about being replaced on the Louisiana deal, Ogedegbe alleged the firm retaliated against her and ultimately terminated her in March 2025. Ogedegbe sued the firm four months later, one day before McDermott Will & Emery completed its planned merger with Schulte Roth & Zabel.

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