New Firm Photo Leads to Lawsuit

Consistent with its new slogan “Seeing is Believing,” Atlanta law firm Clyburn & Murphy LLP recently made a decision to revamp its website. Gone are the black and white headshots of attorneys that are so frequently found on law firm websites. In their place are color spreads of three photos (including at least one “full-body shot”) for each attorney. The goal? Let clients see a different, more personal side of their lawyers. The result? A sexual harassment lawsuit.

Former Clyburn second-year associate and college gymnast, Monica Upshaw, has recently sued the law firm for the harassment that she received as a result of her photo spread. According to the complaint filed in federal court, the looks and calls Upshaw received once her firm profile went public drove her to quit her job and have ruined her chances for future employment in the legal community.

The profile, which included the tagline “I’ll do flips for you,” has since been taken down by Clyburn, but was attached to the complaint. It showed Upshaw in three different photos. The first was a standard full-body shot in business attire; the second was the same pose in a leotard; and the third was a mid-air shot of Upshaw flipping over her desk while holding a laptop. According to Upshaw’s complaint, after her firm profile picture was changed “against her will,” co-workers began to comment on her body. Most frequently she received comments such as “now that I’ve seen you, I’m a believer.” Partners also allegedly asked Upshaw to perform flips and splits in front of clients. A process that she found “more degrading than anything she’s done besides typing up notes from conference calls or coordinating travel plans.”

Some predict that this lawsuit is only the tip of the iceberg. “I have a friend who just went through the whole re-branding experience at his law firm,” reported a disgruntled attorney when approached for comment on this story by Litination. “He’s a larger man who used to get the utmost deference from clients and opposing counsel. Now, however, he almost always gets a ‘how’s it going big guy’ when he talks to someone he’s never met. He even told me that recently when a party forgot to mute their phone on a conference call he heard someone singing the ‘five dollar foot long’ Subway jingle after he announced his name. That’s going to be a huge claim (no pun intended).”

Maybe the rush away from headshots wasn’t the best idea. Isn’t it common knowledge that most lawyers are more cut out for radio than for TV?