Winston & Strawn Lawyer Doesn’t Have to Arbitrate Bias Claims (1)

A former patent lawyer in Winston & Strawn’s Northern California offices can pursue her sex bias, equal pay, and job retaliation claims in court, a state appeals court ruled.

Constance Ramos can’t be forced to arbitrate her claims because the agreement she signed when she joined the firm as an “income partner” in May 2014 contains several unfair provisions, including a clause that would have limited the relief the arbitrators could have awarded Ramos, the court said. That clause can’t be severed without fundamentally changing the agreement, so the contract as a whole is unenforceable, the court said.

The Nov. ...