Leny Wallen-Friedman: Sexist?

Leny Wallen-Friedman is the president of Wallen-Friedman & Floyd, P.A. and has tried to cultilvate a reputation as a fair-minded jurist and supporter of the less-advantaged.  Leny and his firm have long been contributors to Legal Aid, a group whose motto is "Justice for All."

Does Leny's practice actually uphold such a stated value?  The record strongly suggests otherwise.

One of Leny's clients in 1997 was the Eagle Nursing Home, which was being sued for paying female staff less than men and then tried to justify the entire practice by attempting to discredit the plantiff, Rozmeree French.  From the court documents:

By April 1993, Eagle had hired several male LPNs. The new male LPNs allegedly were paid more than female LPNs with the same or more experience. French maintains that by early May 1993, she had questioned Defendant William Eagle¹ about this pay policy, had requested a raise, and had been told to discuss the matter with Andreen. French did so, but her complaint was not documented or investigated. French also asked Defendant Steven Winthrop, Eagle's Controller, about receiving a raise on several occasions. Winthrop told French that he was working on the problem but claims not to have told her that he had the authority to authorize pay raises. According to French, Defendants Martinson and Johnson also were aware of French's numerous complaints about the pay disparity between male and female LPNs at Eagle. French contends that she began to receive negative performance reviews shortly after making her initial complaints about unequal pay to William Eagle, Winthrop, and Andreen.

Now, unlike Leny's friends, let's be a little fair.  The court records did show that Ms. French had an average to below average record of employment as a nurse.  And, of course, Eagle has a right to legal representation.  But Ms. French's record was not the record at the heart of the suit - it was Eagle's record of paying female employees (whether their performance was excellent or more like Ms. French's) less than their male counterparts.  Making things even worse was the climate of physical harassment Ms. French had to endure:

French contends that during the second conversation, Johnson defamed her and placed her in danger of physical contact by calling her a terrible nurse and by throwing up her hands and pointing a finger at French.

Again, everyone or institutions has the right to an attorney - even an organization with questionable employment practices like Eagle.  What remains odd is that Leny Wallen-Friedman, supposed advocate for the disenfranchised, would do only choose to represent a company accused of sexism but "defend" his client through aggressive, character-defaming means. 

Does Leny Wallen-Friedman support sexist policies or does he simply feel that defending sexist policies through any means necessary is simply good business - for him?  Leny needs to answer these troubling questions immediately. The legal response Leny Wallen-Friedman designed to help Eagle?  Attack Ms. French's abilities as a nurse.  Indeed, Eagle's entire case seemed to rest on destroying their opponent's character....hmm, sounds familar to Leny's political allies in the Edina School Board race.