Lewis Brisbois is the pot calling the kettle black in the Barber Ranen fiasco

Until recently, the firm website of Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith trumpeted John Barber as the head of its extensive nationwide Labor & Employment division. Numerous times, Lewis Brisbois boasted on its website about Barber’s prominence, publications, and presentations on employment-related issues. Lewis Brisbois had similar praise for Jeff Ranen, broadcasting on its website in 2017 in an article titled “Jeff Ranen Named Top Employment Lawyer” that Ranen was one of only 75 attorneys to receive the honor. Lewis Brisbois noted that Ranen was “one of the youngest group leaders at Lewis Brisbois” and that he was the chair of the firm’s Wage & Hour Class Action Practice. Headed by Barber’s division, Lewis Brisbois even ran a blog titled “The Grindstone,” which focused on labor and employment issues to “provid[e] employers and employees with crucial information to help them make well-informed decisions.”

Just over a month ago, Barber and Ranen left Lewis Brisbois to start Barber Ranen LLP, their own boutique employment defense firm. They took about 140 lawyers and hundreds of staff members with them.

Last week, Lewis Brisbois released to the press several emails from Barber and Ranen. Some of the emails were over 15 years old. The emails were deplorable. They were sexist, racist, antisemitic and homophobic. There is no possible excuse for them. These emails rightfully caused Barber and Ranen to resign from their own firm.

Prior to his departure, Barber was a member of Lewis Brisbois’ Management Committee. And during the time Barber and Ranen sent emails stating that they “will not hire Jews” and degrading an Asian attorney applicant for the purported size of his genitalia, Lewis Brisbois and its Management Committee boasted that it was “committed to hiring and retaining a diverse group of talented lawyers and staff, and demonstrates that commitment through non-discriminatory hiring, retention and promotion policies.” With Barber as a core part of its management and hiring committee, Lewis Brisbois claimed that “diversity is an integral part of our firm culture and our daily life.”

Lewis Brisbois did not reveal these emails out of some desire to raise awareness of racism or sexism. Like a jilted, jealous, and vindictive ex, Lewis Brisbois released the emails to destroy Barber and Ranen. When Barber and Ranen left Lewis Brisbois, they made several comments denigrating the giant’s culture. They suggested that Lewis Brisbois lacked empathy and were concerned more about profits than their employees or their clients. They also promised to flatten the pyramid model of the insurance defense industry, one in which a few attorneys make millions off the hard work of the associates and junior partners underneath them.

Either inspired by Barber Ranen LLP or dissatisfied with the culture at Lewis Brisbois (or both), hundreds of attorneys and staff decided to leave. Why would so many employees leave a firm that purportedly respected and appreciated them?

At Lewis Brisbois, Barber was one of their top rainmakers. And Lewis Brisbois had absolutely no problem with Barber, his actions, or his practices as long as his team was making the firm tens of millions of dollars. If anything, Barber’s actions are a reflection of the culture and attitude of Lewis Brisbois over the past few decades. Not only did Lewis Brisbois tolerate Barber, they promoted and endorsed them as one of its leaders.

What did Lewis Brisbois accomplish in releasing the emails? Sure, they successfully destroyed the careers of Barber and Ranen and almost certainly destroyed what is left of Barber Ranen LLP. But in their thirst for revenge, they have now damaged the careers of hundreds of young attorneys and staff who followed Barber and Ranen.

And by pointing the finger at Barber and Ranen, Lewis Brisbois has three fingers pointed back at itself. For many years, Lewis Brisbois had its employment division, rather ironically, run by Barber and Ranen. Let’s not forget, all of the emails at issue were sent from an email suffix of “@lewisbrisbois.com” It is extremely unlikely that any of Barber Ranen LLP’s clients will return to Lewis Brisbois with the knowledge of its toxic employment division.

Lewis Brisbois claims that an “anonymous complaint” caused them to look into these emails. There was no obligation or duty by Lewis Brisbois to this so-called anonymous source to release them to the media. And many of the emails that were released were heavily redacted.

The redactions included other recipients and participants on the emails in question. These were not just emails sent between Barber and Ranen. These redactions make it impossible to tell whether those other participants are currently Lewis Brisbois attorneys who observed the discriminatory conduct and did nothing until Barber and Ranen became their competitors. Lewis Brisbois should release the emails unredacted.

Likewise, if Lewis Brisbois truly wants to be transparent, they should inform the public and the press of the results of a comprehensive search of all of the emails of its Management Committee, the same Management Committee where Barber was previously a member. This should include any emails that contain the n-word, the c-word, or the homophobic f-word. Even if a search does not reveal active participation in the misogynistic and racist behavior, it could reveal that these members had long been aware of Barber and Ranen’s behavior.