This
past
weekend,
I
was
plagued
by
two
different
jarring
stories
of
Biglaw
lawyers
that
hit
social
media:
the
abuse
and
unyielding
rage
of
Allan
Kassenoff
from
Greenberg
Traurig
that
led
to
the
planned
suicide
of
his
wife
Catherine
Kassenoff,
and
the
vitriolic
antisemitic,
racist,
and
misogynistic
language
spewed
by
Jeff
Ranen
and
John
Barber
of
Barber
Ranen
(formed
by
140-plus
lawyers
who
departed
from
Lewis
Brisbois
at
the
beginning
of
May
2023).
Both
of
these
incidents
are
full
of
emails
documenting
the
widespread
abuse
of
power
and
privilege
within
the
Biglaw
world.
As
I’ve
previously
written
in
my
ATL
column,
these
are
the
toxic
behaviors
that
push
women
out
of
law
firms
and
hurt
our
profession
as
a
whole.
It’s
this
type
of
despicable
behavior
that
perpetuates
negativity
in
our
profession
and
continues
to
corrupt
it.
Yet,
it’s
a
sordid
reality
of
how
male
Biglaw
lawyers
wield
their
power
in
and
out
of
the
courtroom
—
and
how
law
firms
often
sweep
it
under
the
rug
because
it’s
just
regular
business
for
them
—
after
all,
if
the
Biglaw
machine
is
making
money,
who
cares,
right?
Imagine
working
for
a
firm
for
a
decade
and
learning
that
the
white,
male
partners
refer
to
women
and
other
POC
with
demeaning,
condescending,
and
wholly
inappropriate
language.
I’ll
let
you
click
on
the
link
to
see
the
examples
for
yourself.
I
worked
for
various
abusive
male
lawyers
throughout
my
law
firm
days.
I’d
often
ask
myself:
if
this
is
how
they
talk
to
me,
can
you
imagine
how
they
speak
to
their
wives,
daughters,
and
mothers?
Allan
Kassenoff
is
a
prime
example
of
this
—
in
various
TikTok
videos
from
Robbie
Harvey,
a
journalist,
which
garnered
more
than
20
million
views,
he
explains
and
documents
the
abuse
and
rage
of
Kassenoff
calling
his
wife
Catherine,
a
decorated
and
accomplished
woman
lawyer
and
mother
to
his
three
daughters,
a
“fat
loser,”
among
other
derogatory
terms.
Yet,
the
PR
stunts
played
by
these
firms
should
not
go
unnoticed.
Catherine
Kassenoff
made
her
public
plea
on
Facebook
before
undergoing
doctor-assisted
suicide
in
Europe,
shedding
light
on
the
magnitude
of
her
life
of
hell
with
Allen
Kassenoff.
But
like
any
good
lawyer,
she
diligently
attached
a
large
file
of
documents
and
videos
which
noted
the
abuse
and
corruption
in
the
case.
Greenberg
Traurig
has
since
put
up
a
statement
on
its
Facebook
page
defending
its
beloved
firm
partner.
What
we
have
yet
to
see
are
the
comments
from
various
legal
assistants,
law
firm
associates,
and
other
women
in
Allan’s
work
life
who
may
have
been
privy
to
the
pervasive
patterns
of
verbal
and
emotional
abuse
that
may
have
just
been
swept
under
the
rug
since
he’s
a
rainmaker
for
the
firm.
For
such
a
brazen
and
bold
figure,
he’s
certainly
now
hidden
—
removing
his
LinkedIn
profile
and
causing
GT
to
shut
off
all
comments
on
its
social
media
channels.
For
Ranen
and
Barber,
their
abhorrent
antisemitic,
racist,
and
misogynistic
behaviors
have
now
come
to
light,
but
a
little
too
late
—
as
the
documented
emails
occurred
while
they
were
employed
by
Lewis
Brisbois.
Thus,
it
appears
to
be
more
of
a
“gotcha”
way
to
preclude
their
new
firm
from
flourishing
—
perhaps
from
an
insider
at
Lewis
Brisbois
who
may
be
firing
back
after
Ranen
and
Barber
took
away
clients
and
lawyers
from
them.
Yet,
what’s
even
more
despicable
is
that
Lewis
Brisbois
allowed
this
behavior
to
permeate
for
more
than
a
decade,
with
the
New
York
Post
reporting
emails
that
go
as
far
back
as
June
2012.
Where
were
the
internal
controls
since
law
firms
monitor
emails
and
have
various
firewalls
and
language
filters?
Did
they
only
go
up
after
they
exited
the
firm
and
took
the
100-plus
lawyers
with
them
for
their
spinoff?
Where
was
HR
in
all
of
this?
Here’s
the
reality:
emails
are
forever,
as
is
the
internet.
Certainly,
Kassenoff,
Ranen,
and
Barber
have
shown
us
how
Biglaw
operates
when
push
comes
to
shove
with
the
billable
hour
and
revenue.
Yet,
in
the
spirit
of
irony
and
hypocrisy,
it
makes
complete
sense
that
Ranen
(as
his
LinkedIn
profile
denotes)
was
the
editor
of
Boston
College
Law
School’s
Third
World
Law
Journal,
focusing
on
civil
rights.
Again,
the
irony
within
Biglaw
shines
bright
like
a
diamond.
Wendi
Weiner
is
an attorney,
career
expert,
and
founder
of The
Writing
Guru,
an
award-winning
executive
resume
writing
services
company.
Wendi creates
powerful
career
and
personal
brands
for
attorneys,
executives,
and
C-suite/Board
leaders
for
their
job
search
and
digital
footprint. She
also
writes
for
major
publications
about
alternative
careers
for
lawyers, personal
branding,
LinkedIn
storytelling,
career
strategy,
and
the
job
search
process. You
can
reach
her
by
email
at wendi@writingguru.net,
connect
with
her
on LinkedIn,
and
follow
her
on
Twitter @thewritingguru.