SAN FRANCISCO (Legal Newsline) - An attorney with a past and present at Redgrave LLP is trying to keep her dispute with the firm out of arbitration.
Karen Hourigan filed a complaint for declaratory judgment on July 26 in San Francisco federal court against the firm and its representation, Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart. The complaint says those firms are attempting to initiate arbitration in Hourigan's employment dispute.
Hourigan says there is no valid partnership agreement between the parties that subjects her to arbitration, while California law prohibits arbitration for California Fair Employment and Housing Act claims.
"Defendants' conduct for nearly six months, as well as their conduct to this day, reflects numerous actions that are inconsistent with any right to arbitrate," the suit says.
Hourigan worked at Redgrave's San Francisco office "from time to time" for approximately 10 years, she says. In 2016, the firm attempted to amend her partnership agreement from equity to non-equity, with a pay decrease, so she withdrew from her partnership.
The mutual release was executed in November 2016. She says she was constructively discharged two years later but offered employment in March 2021. The company has failed to live up to the terms of the offer, she says, leading to the current dispute.