Biglaw

Lawsuit Alleges Biglaw Counsel Attempted To Rape Paralegal

UPDATE- the firm issued a statement saying this morning they terminated the attorney alleged to have sexually assaulted the plaintiff.

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A shocking complaint has been filed in the Southern District of New York against Biglaw firm Fox Rothschild and counsel at the firm, Ian W. Siminoff. A former paralegal, Stephanie Jones, alleges claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, New York State Human Rights Law and the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination. The complaint details escalating instances of sexual assault and harassment over a three year period.

The complaint alleges Siminoff repeatedly subjected Jones to physical touching, fondling her breasts and vagina:

On one occasion, while in Siminoff’s office, he closed the door and fondled Ms. Jones’s breasts. Ms. Jones pushed him off, told him to stop and left his office.

Siminoff’s attacks on Ms. Jones extended beyond the breast fondling attack in his office. He would stop by Ms. Jones’s desk and attempt to fondle her breasts and her body through her clothes.

On one occasion, when both were at the coffee machine, Siminoff put his hands under Ms. Jones’ dress and grabbed at her vagina.

Ms. Jones never touched Siminoff. Rather, she kept him at arm’s length to the extent she could.

According to the complaint, these physical assaults escalated to attempted rape:

In January 2015, after 5:30 p.m., during the work week, Ms. Jones found herself nearly alone on the 4th floor of the NJ office with Siminoff. During this encounter, Siminoff pushed Ms. Jones into a deserted bathroom and tried to have sexual intercourse with her.

Ms. Jones fought off Siminoff’s sexual assault.

In addition to the physical assaults, the complaint also details the sexual harassment Jones was allegedly subjected to. The complaint has over six pages of inappropriate texts that Siminoff sent to Jones. Some of what he allegedly texted Jones includes:

  • “Don’t mind me, I’m just laying here at 3 am thinking about kissing your breasts.”
  • “I’d like to pour that glass of wine on your naked body. As I see it, it trickles down your breasts, in between them, to in between your legs.”
  • “I’m doing what I usually do when I think of you.”
  • “Dreams about you last night. I always cum when I think of you!”
  • “Let me know if you want to know how I did you in my dream, too”
  • “I suppose there is the possibility, mind you, just a possibility, that kissing could lead to me doing you from behind?”
  • “Three different images, one after the other: 1) you spitting my cum into my ex’es hair; 2) you inserting veggies into her ass; and 3) you fucking Andy while I was sleeping”

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Siminoff also allegedly sent Jones pictures of his genitals. The complaint says that when Jones would block Siminoff from sending her texts, he would harass her until she relented.

The complaint also alleges that when Jones complained to the Office Administrator that Siminoff made her uncomfortable and was inappropriate, she was denied her request to no longer work with Siminoff. The complaint further alleges she was told if she was unhappy at the firm there were “plenty of other places to work.”

Tyrone A. Blackburn, attorney for the plaintiff, had this comment about the lawsuit:

“The discrimination, harassment and intimidation apparently rampant at Fox Rothschild epitomize precisely the hallmarks of sexual abuse that the #MeToo movement has chronicled and seeks to combat. That Ms. Jones suffered not just the indignity of harassing behavior but also her employer’s failure to act when she reported it is as appalling as it is illegal.”

UPDATE: Tom Paradise, General Counsel at Fox Rothschild provided the following statement:

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We are disturbed by the details alleged in the complaint filed today in the Southern District of New York. The attorney who was named a defendant in the suit was terminated this morning from Fox Rothschild.

The filing omits facts and contains inaccuracies. We believe once brought to light, those facts will demonstrate that Fox Rothschild takes any reporting of harassment as serious and conducts thorough investigations of such reported allegations, as noted in our Harassment-Free Workplace Policy.

At no time prior to Ms. Jones’ termination from the firm did she report any incidents of harassment by Ian Siminoff as detailed in her complaint.

Read the full complaint on the next page.

headshotKathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, and host of The Jabot podcast. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).

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