ANTI-DISCRIMINATION LAW

Ms. Feigen represents both employers and employees, defendants as well as plaintiffs.  Her years of work on behalf of people who have been mistreated because of their sex, race, national origin, age, sexual orientation, disability, etc. have caused her to realize that some people take advantage of the laws and try, improperly, to claim discrimination.  This makes it harder for legitimate plaintiffs to bring their claims.  Not jaded, but with a very clear goal, Ms. Feigen now represents defendants whom she believes have been unjustly accused of violating state or federal fair employment laws.  In fact, she represents defendants with a gusto brought on by the many years she has devoted to efforts on behalf of complainants.

Ms. Feigen has been involved with sex discrimination, sexual harassment, race, ethnic origin, age, disability and sexual orientation discrimination cases for over three decades. Having graduated from Harvard Law School, she was both a plaintiff and attorney in a successful four-pronged class action lawsuit against the Harvard Club of New York City that had, prior to the suit's being filed, refused to admit women as full members, only allowing them to go through a side door to the second floor tea rooms.

In the early '70s, Ms. Feigen directed the Women's Rights Project of the ACLU with now Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and handled every sort of gender discrimination lawsuit. She oversaw litigation across the country and wrote U.S. Supreme Court briefs for the most important of them. She sued not only on behalf of women but also men who were crippled by sex-role stereotypes that more often than not, for example, prevented them from being full parents to their children. One successful class action case was against the New York City Board of Education that had never before allowed fathers parental leaves of absence. Women who have been denied equal opportunity for advancement, promotions and even equal pay routinely have asked for and received her help. In fact, Ms. Feigen was instrumental in the passage of Title IX which called for equal treatment of girls and women in sports programs in all schools across the country that received any kind of federal aid. In this respect, Ms. Feigen continues to accept challenges based on unfair treatment in sports of women and girls.

Several large class actions were successfully handled by Ms. Feigen in three federal district courts in Southern states. These cases addressed the issues of poor, non-white women being sterilized without their knowledge and informed consent.

In recent years and as the law changed to accommodate such suits, Ms. Feigen has also gone after employers who discriminate against employees because of their gender, sexual orientation, disability age or race. Whether the process is begun in a state agency, with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or the U.S. Justice Department is a discussion that Ms. Feigen has with her clients at the very beginning of their relationship. Often the answer is easy, depending on the kind of matter and the state in which the complaint arises. Ms. Feigen prides herself on being able to negotiate fair settlements for clients who choose not to go to court but who nonetheless have strong cases.

Recently, Ms. Feigen has been on the front lines in the successful fight against the military's "Don't Ask; Don't Tell" policy that forced service members to hide their sexuality or face dismissal. This highly unconstitutional law was an issue discussed regularly in the press. Ms. Feigen's posts on the website www.WowOWow.com have regularly address problems and often suggest solutions.   Today, she remains actively interested in repeal by Congress of the Defense of Marriage Act, while remaining impassioned that in courts around the country, including the Supreme Court, rule on the constitutionality of such unfair laws.

At the outset, Ms. Feigen usually charges a consultation fee so that she can fully understand and explain the scope of her client's problems. She occasionally takes some cases on a contingency basis but is careful to avoid doing so in cases in which her clients are asking to keep their jobs or get promoted, as these might pose the appearance of a conflict of interest.