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Law Offices of Tamara S. Freeze Files Wrongful Termination Lawsuit against Bingham McCutchen for Associate Afflicted with Rare Sleep Disorder

The lawsuit on behalf of Hartwell Harris, 34, was announced at a news conference held today in the Beverly Hills, CA offices of her attorney, Tamara S. Freeze. In addition to Bingham McCutchen, a law firm headquartered in Boston, MA which has offices in the U.S., Europe and Asia, defendants included Attorneys Seth Gerber and Jonathan Loeb, firm partners who supervised Ms. Harris in its Santa Monica, CA office.

Among specific causes of action cited in the lawsuit include: employment discrimination, failure to accommodate disability, interference with, and retaliation for, exercising rights under the Family Employment and Housing Act and California Family Rights Act and defamation. The lawsuit seeks general, compensatory, exemplary and punitive damages, legal costs and injunctive relief.

According to Ms. Freeze, in April 2010, after working at Bingham McCutchen for three years, Ms. Harris was afflicted by Delayed Sleep-Phase Syndrome (DSPS), a chronic circadian rhythm sleep disorder which disrupts the timing of sleep, peak periods of alertness, core body temperature, hormonal and other daily rhythms. Until that point in time, she emphasized, Ms. Harris had consistently received promotions, pay raises and bonuses.

Bingham McCutchen initially granted Ms. Harris a short-term disability leave, then placed her on unpaid leave and ultimately terminated her employment February 24, 2011. The lawsuit states that the firm refused her doctor's proposed accommodations, such as flexible start times or telecommuting, and did not offer any other options to accommodate her disability. Ms. Freeze commented: "It is egregious that Bingham McCutchen made no 'good faith' effort to propose and implement even minimal accommodations to her work schedule which would have allowed her to continue serving the firm and its clients."

A native of Winona, MS (population approximately 5,000) and coming from a modest economic background, Ms. Harris attended Princeton University where she received a degree in Political Science before obtaining her Juris Doctor degree at the University of California at Berkeley Law School.

Fisher & Associates
Bob Fisher, 805-496-5386
pr4biz@FisherPR.com