Jury Will Have To Decide If Davis Polk Lawyers Are Racist Or Just Socially Awkward

As Kaloma Cardwell’s discrimination trial continues, interesting tidbits of what it’s like to work at the firm continue to trickle out. Davis Polk alleges that Cardwell was fired for performance issues — at one point, he refused an assignment. Cardwell argues that its all pretext for a retaliation firing because he complained about the racial climate at the firm. Understandably, testimony has been used to establish a baseline for what the day-to-day work experience was like for him at the firm. A former colleague nitpicked that Cardwell looked too comfortable in his seat while on the job.

One of Cardwell’s complaints was that he wasn’t treated like one of the members of the group: they left him off email chains about cases he was assigned to and allegedly didn’t even make eye contact with him while he was in the room. While we’ve yet to hear an explanation for the email issues, one was given for the stinginess with eye contact: We’re just weird like that, man.

“I had just experienced sitting in an M&A practice group [meeting] for an hour, being one of the only Black attorneys in the room, sitting at a table that had six or seven other attorneys at it and experiencing absolutely no [one] looking at me for the entire hour-long meeting,” Cardwell explained.

Davis Polk executive director Sharon Crane’s response mentioned that many lawyers are “socially awkward.”

“At the time, I thought that what I experienced did not happen to everyone and it was not happening to everyone, so when I read that response, I disagreed with her assessment,” Cardwell said.

Cardwell said he raised similar concerns to then-managing partner Thomas Reid at a January 2016 dinner. Reid’s initial response was similar to Crane’s, Cardwell testified, and he told Reid that he also attributed the behavior to social awkwardness at first.

There’s nothing wrong with having awkward coworkers. It is kind of weird when they turn on the charisma for literally everyone else though:

Cardwell said he changed his mind when he watched the lawyers take on a charismatic “Leonardo DiCaprio” persona when they talked to clients and non-Black colleagues.

It would be strange to encounter “Wolf of Wall Street” Leonardo DiCaprio in one room and the much more demure “Don’t Look Up” Leo in the other. Assuming everyone here is above 25, you can’t explain the DiCaprio switch-up with simple flirtation jitters — maybe there is something to what Cardwell is saying.

Then again, is it really that surprising that a firm would can you after refusing work? Reed Smith got rid of a bunch of associates over Zoom that did the work they were told to do. Even the pregnant ones.

Davis Polk Ex-Associate Kaloma Cardwell Recounts His Experience In Retaliation Trial Testimony [Law.com]

Earlier: Former Davis Polk Employee Testifies In Racial Discrimination Trial That Fired Associate Was Too Relaxed

Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord™ in the Facebook group Law School Memes for Edgy T14s.  He endured Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boatbuilder who cannot swim, a published author on critical race theory, philosophy, and humor, and has a love for cycling that occasionally annoys his peers. You can reach him by email at cwilliams@abovethelaw.com and by tweet at @WritesForRent.