Ex-DLA Piper IP Attorney Says Firing while Pregnant Was More Than Rates

DLA Piper’s former senior associate in intellectual property claims that the law firm discriminated against her six days after she had submitted a request for maternity leave.

Anisha Mehta earned three pay raises and no negative feedback in the year leading up to an October termination prompted by “purported poor performance,” she said in a complaint filed Tuesday with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in New York.

The true motive was pressure from clients over firm billing rates, “in addition to the fact that less billable work was coming through the firm’s door,” according to Mehta, who worked in the New York office.

Six days after she had requested maternity leave, she was fired. She expected that she would start her three-month-later, according to the complaint. She expected to take 18 to 20 weeks off with compensation ranging from $173,000 to $192,000.

DLA Piper, among the largest firms in the world, has a “generous leave policy and a great track record of supporting working parents,” said Michele Maryott, a Gibson Dunn & Crutcher partner representing DLA Piper. “The firm looks forward to having the EEOC charge reviewed in the normal course.”

DLA Piper in 2021 recruited Mehta from K&L Gates, where she had managed trademark portfolios and counseled companies including Amazon.com Inc.

Her complaint is directed at Gina Durham (deputy leader of the IP and Technology group), whom she reports to.

Mehta has not been employed by another employer since her termination.