QUESTION SET ONE

You recently accepted a position as the Vice President of Human Resources for the GOBN (Good ‘Ol Boys Network) law firm. You quickly learn that employment attorneys don't always listen to their own advice. 

GOBN is desperately in need of a mid-level associate to work on collective and class action wage and hour cases. Barry Bonds, a very muscular man and long-time hiring partner at the GOBN firm, is interviewing candidates at an off-site location. Mr. Bonds typically asks the candidates about their education and experience, but ends every interview with a sports trivia question, figuring that attorneys cannot relate to clients unless they can talk sports. 

Many women have applied for jobs at the GOBN firm, but none have been hired. 

Analyze the fact pattern using the IRAC formula.

1.    First, identify the narrow Issue(s) identified in the fact pattern.

2.    Second, identify the Rule or test the courts use to analyze such issues.  To receive points for this part of the question, you must reference the case in which the rule/test was applied using a complete case citation. 

3.    Third, identify the court's Application or Analysis of the salient/most important facts to the rule/test. 

4.    Finally, using the court's analysis, identify the Conclusion that you anticipate the court would reach based on the facts presented in the GOBN pattern.

 

 

 

QUESTION SET TWO

Bonds reviews the resumes submitted, and then settles on two candidates: Jerome Seinfeld and Elaine Benes. Jerome is a former sportswriter, while Elaine has an impressive list of athletic accomplishments, including membership in the Ohio State Sports Hall of Fame for her accomplishments on the volleyball court. The following exchange occurred during the interview process:

Barry: Please summarize your experience, Mr. Seinfeld.

Jerome: I have nine years of experience in collective and class action. I love wage and hour law, it's always been my passion. I authored a wage and hour manual, and I'm frequently quoted in Crain's.  If you're looking for a player in this field, mine is the biggest name.

Barry: Who holds the single season home run record in the MLB? 

Jerome: Of course I know the answer, you hit 73 back in 2001; now that I've answered your question, I assume our interview is done.

Barry: Hold your horses, one more question, and then we're through. Our biggest client loves the Ohio State Buckeyes. We keep him drunk and happy in our luxury suite. Can you attend the games each Saturday, that's where he likes to meet?

Jerome: I can't work on Saturday because of my religious observation, but I'd be happy to meet the clients at another time and location.

Barry: Thank you for your time and interest in GOBN. We'll get back to you soon, with our hiring decision.

Moderator: Mr. Bonds next interviews Elaine.

Barry: I don't want to waste your time; the interview will end if you can't answer this question: who is Mr. October, and I don't mean the guy from your Playgirl collection?

Elaine: I've never litigated a collective or class action, but I know that Mr. October is Reggie Jackson.

Barry: Our clients love the Buckeyes, and they'd certainly recognize your name; do you have any "religious observances" that would prevent you from attending a Buckeye's game? 

Elaine: I'll do anything for this job, and I wouldn't miss a game, if you want someone to schmooze the Buckeye faithful, Elaine Benes is your name.

Moderator: Mr. Bonds sends a letter to Jerome informing him that they'd hired what he considers to be a "more qualified person" for the job. 

·         Analyze the fact pattern using the burden shifting framework the United States Supreme Court provided in McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green for analyzing pretext cases (see pages 77-83 of the text). 

 

QUESTION SET THREE

With Elaine's recent hire, GOBN now has 41 attorneys: 39 Caucasian men, 1 African-American man, and one Caucasian woman. Despite having the best seats for Buckeye games, GOBN is losing clients to Getwitha Thymes, its top competitor. Barry reviews the bios on the website for Getwitha Thymes and discovers (based on the head shots) that Getwitha Thymes has a diverse group of attorneys. Barry decides that GOBN needs to mirror the racial and gender composition of Getwitha Thymes. In the next 12 months, Barry hires 20 attorneys fresh out of law school: 12 African-American men, including his son, Barry Bonds, Jr., 6 African-American women, Yumiko Fukushimo, an Asian woman and the wife of Ichiro Suzuki, and a Hispanic woman. 

GOBN has a 10 year "partnership track", meaning that attorneys who have been practicing law for 10 or more years are eligible to be considered for partner. Partners have greater job security and make significantly more than associates. GOBN accepts a maximum of two attorneys into the partnership each year. David Dukes has been with GOBN since 2002. Based on his years of practice, Mr. Dukes is the only associate eligible for partner in 2012. Mr. Dukes has large and loyal clients, which is no surprise, as Mr. Dukes recently was rated by Super Lawyers magazine as the top trial attorney in Ohio. By all accounts, Mr. Dukes is worthy of inclusion into the partnership. Because Getwitha Thymes has a diverse group of partners, however, Barry decides to shorten the partnership track for diverse attorneys. Because Barry Bonds, Jr. and Yukimo Fukushimo led GOBN to its first attorney-league softball title in 2012 and were a "hit" with the clients, Barry proposed them for partnership. Convinced that diverse partners would enable GOBN to retain its clients, GOBN elected Barry Bonds, Jr. and Yukimo Fukushimo to the partnership in 2012. 

Analyze the fact pattern using the IRAC formula.

1.    identify the narrow Issue(s) identified in the fact pattern. In addition, identify the potential ramifications/business considerations presented by the issue.

2.    identify the Rule or test the courts use to analyze such issues. To receive points for this part of the question, you must reference the case in which the rule/test was applied using a complete case citation. 

3.    identify the court's Application or Analysis of the salient/most important facts to the rule/test. 

4.    using the court's analysis, identify the Conclusion that you anticipate the court would reach based on the facts presented in the GOBN fact pattern.