A Philadelphia judge has ordered confidential arbitration in the case of Alfred W. Zaher, an openly gay attorney who claims he lost a job at the Blank Rome law firm due to anti-LGBT bias.
On April 4, Philadelphia Common Pleas Judge Gary S. Glazer ordered arbitration for six of the seven counts filed by Zaher against Blank Rome. The counts that must be arbitrated include civil conspiracy, failure to pay funds owed to Zaher, wrongful conversion, breach of fiduciary duty, interference with Zaher’s livelihood and breach of an agreement.
Glazer held in abeyance one count — injunctive relief to stop Blank Rome from disparaging Zaher — until arbitration is concluded for the other counts.
Zaher worked at Blank Rome from 2006-14, but left after coworkers allegedly disparaged him and tried to steal his clients.
Zaher claims his problems were due to anti-LGBT bias. After he went to another firm, Blank Rome continued to harass him and withhold money owed to him out of “spite,” according to Zaher.
He filed suit in Philadelphia Common Pleas Court, seeking more than $50,000 in damages. But now, the case will be heard by a three-member panel of the American Arbitration Association.
In court papers, Blank Rome officials argued that a partnership agreement signed by Zaher required that the dispute be resolved by arbitration.
In a March 31 reply brief, Zaher maintained that his claims belong in Philadelphia Common Pleas Court. Zaher’s filing contended he’s is in compliance with a partnership agreement he signed as an attorney at Blank Rome.
“Zaher has been in full compliance with terms of the partnership agreement,” the filing states. “It’s Blank Rome that’s consistently violated the ‘letter and spirit’ of the agreement.”
Zaher’s filing also notes that he tried on multiple occasions to negotiate with Blank Rome in good faith, to no avail. Instead, Blank Rome officials allegedly threatened to drive up litigation costs if Zaher contested his treatment at the firm, according to Zaher’s filing.
“Blank Rome’s own refusal to negotiate, mediate, arbitrate or even discuss any issue in this case is the reason it finds itself before this court today,” the filing adds.
Zaher’s filing described Blank Rome’s treatment of him as “brutal,” “malicious” and “pernicious.”
After Glazer’s ruling, Blank Rome issued this statement:
“Mr. Zaher’s departure from the firm was entirely unrelated to his involvement in the LGBT community. For more than 70 years, Blank Rome has remained committed to diversity and inclusion, and is proud of its distinguished record in that regard. In fact, on March 29, Blank Rome was recognized by the Human Rights Campaign with an award as a Best Place to Work for LGBT Equality, achieving a perfect score on the Corporate Equality Index in acknowledgement of our policies and practices related to LGBT workplace equality.”
Attorneys for Zaher had no comment for this story.