A Lebanese-American lawyer has taken legal action against a national law firm, alleging discrimination in a lawsuit filed recently.
Jinan Chehade claims she was fired from Foley & Lardner, a firm based in Chicago, just a day before she was scheduled to commence her job, citing her Muslim and Arab identity as reasons.
According to the complaint filed in U.S. District Court, Chehade, a graduate of Georgetown Law School, had received an offer for a full-time position at Foley & Lardner starting in the fall of 2023.
However, she alleges that she was terminated 15 hours before her expected start date.
Chehade asserts that on the Sunday prior to her scheduled first day, she was called into the office by Foley & Lardner and subjected to a two-hour interrogation in what she described as a hostile manner.
She claimed that the firm presented her with a packet containing screenshots of her social media posts, speeches, and information about her background and identity.
The questioning reportedly extended to Chehade’s father, who works at the Mosque Foundation in Bridgeview.
Additionally, Chehade says she was asked about her involvement with Students for Justice in Palestine and her public comments regarding a proposed ceasefire resolution at a Chicago City Council meeting.
Feeling distressed by the interrogation and the firm’s actions, Chehade expressed disappointment, stating that she had respected Foley & Lardner’s commitment to diversity but felt vilified by their response.
In response to the lawsuit, a representative from Foley & Lardner issued a statement maintaining that they believed Chehade’s complaint to be meritless.
They defended their decision to rescind her employment offer, citing her statements surrounding the attacks by Hamas on October 7 as the reason for their action.
