Douglas Wigdor facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Douglas Wigdor
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Douglas Wigdor
September 26, 1968 |
| Alma mater | Washington University in St. Louis (BA) Columbus School of Law (JD) St Cross College, Oxford |
| Occupation | Lawyer |
| Employer | Wigdor LLP |
Douglas Holden Wigdor (born in 1968) is a well-known lawyer in New York City. He is a founding partner of the law firm Wigdor LLP. He specializes in helping people who have faced unfair treatment, like discrimination.
Mr. Wigdor is famous for representing many people in important cases. This includes helping people who said they were treated unfairly by Harvey Weinstein. He also represented a hotel worker in a case involving Dominique Strauss-Kahn. He has helped many employees at Fox News and coaches from the National Football League (NFL). These coaches, Brian Flores, Steve Wilks, and Ray Horton, filed a lawsuit in 2022. They said the NFL had unfair practices against Black coaches.
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Learning and School
Douglas Wigdor earned his first degree from Washington University in St. Louis. He now helps students there by funding a scholarship. A cycling studio at the university is also named after him.
He then earned his law degree from Catholic University of America's Columbus School of Law. He also studied at St Cross College, Oxford in England. He was named the Alumnus of the Year in 2007 and 2014. A library and garden room at St Cross College are named after him and his wife. While at Oxford, he was part of the university's national championship basketball team in 1995. Mr. Wigdor often gives talks at universities as a guest speaker.
Starting His Career
Douglas Wigdor began his law career working for a judge named Arthur Spatt. He worked in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York for two years. After that, he worked as a lawyer for the Suffolk County district attorney's office.
Later, Mr. Wigdor joined a large law firm called Morgan, Lewis & Bockius. There, he mostly represented big companies that were accused of unfair treatment. But he wasn't happy defending companies accused of wrongdoing. So, in 2003, he started his own law firm with another lawyer, Kenneth P. Thompson. Their new firm focused on helping individuals who had been treated unfairly.
Soon after starting his firm, Mr. Wigdor won a big case against Walmart. He helped someone who had been treated unfairly because of a disability. This case resulted in a $7.5 million payment. It was one of the largest payments at the time under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Early in his career, he used the term "recessionary discrimination." This described how some companies used tough economic times as an excuse to treat people unfairly.
Important Cases
In 2009, Mr. Wigdor represented five women in a case against Citibank. They said they faced unfair treatment because they were women. This case was even featured on the front cover of Forbes magazine.
In 2011, he represented Nafissatou Diallo, a housekeeper. She was involved in a high-profile case with Dominique Strauss-Kahn. In 2020, Mr. Wigdor and Ms. Diallo appeared in a Netflix original show about the case called Room 2806: The Accusation.
He has also represented clients in other important cases. These include cases about unfair treatment against large financial companies like Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank. He also helped actor Rob Brown in a case about unfair treatment based on race against Macy’s. He also represented Charles Oakley in a case against James L. Dolan and Madison Square Garden.
NFL Fairness Lawsuit
On February 1, 2022, Mr. Wigdor filed a lawsuit against the NFL. He also sued the New York Giants, Miami Dolphins, and Denver Broncos. This lawsuit was on behalf of former Dolphins head coach Brian Flores. The lawsuit said the NFL was not fair in how it interviewed Black and minority head coach candidates. It claimed they sometimes held "fake" interviews just to look like they were following the Rooney Rule. This rule encourages teams to interview diverse candidates.
The lawsuit said that text messages showed the Giants decided to hire a coach before interviewing Mr. Flores. Mr. Flores also claimed the Broncos did a similar "fake" interview with him in 2019. The lawsuit also said that Mr. Flores was pressured by the Dolphins team owner to lose games on purpose. He was even offered money for each game lost.
The three teams denied these claims. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said the league's record on diversity was "unacceptable." He promised to look at the league's fairness policies. Even President Joe Biden spoke about the lack of diversity among NFL head coaches before the Super Bowl.
Fox News Lawsuits
Starting in 2016, Mr. Wigdor represented more than twenty employees from Fox News. These cases involved unfair treatment based on race and gender. They were settled outside of court for about $10 million.
NY1 Age and Gender Fairness Lawsuit
Mr. Wigdor represented five long-time female news anchors at NY1. They sued Charter Communications, the company that owns the station. The women said they were given less airtime and fewer chances for promotions. They believed this was because of their age and gender, compared to men and younger women. This lawsuit gained attention around the world. It even led the New York City Council to suggest new laws to fight ageism in workplaces.
In December 2020, The New York Times reported that a settlement was reached. The women left the station as part of the agreement. After the settlement, the women said Charter did not keep its promises. They claimed Charter did not submit their work for Emmy Awards as agreed.
Amazon Race Fairness Lawsuit
On March 1, 2021, Mr. Wigdor filed a lawsuit for Charlotte Newman, an Amazon Web Services manager. The lawsuit claimed that Amazon often paid Black employees less and promoted them less in its corporate offices. It said Amazon hired Black employees into lower roles than they were qualified for. Ms. Newman also said Amazon didn't take her complaints seriously when she faced unfair treatment from co-workers and bosses.
Other Important Work
Mr. Wigdor also filed a lawsuit against SoulCycle. He was not allowed to go to the spinning studio after he represented one of its former instructors.
He also represented the former Chief of Staff for Adam Neumann in a case against WeWork. This case involved unfair treatment related to pregnancy.
In April 2020, Mr. Wigdor started writing articles for the Forbes website.
Awards and Recognition
In 2020, Douglas Wigdor received the Distinguished Leader award from the New York Law Journal. He was also named to The Hollywood Reporter's Top 100 Power Lawyers list, and again in 2024. He also made Billboard's Top Music Lawyers list in 2020, 2021, and 2023.
Mr. Wigdor has received a high ranking from Chambers and Partners. He has also been named a Top 100 attorney in the New York area by Super Lawyers many times. City & State included him on its annual Law Power 100 list in 2021. They noted that he has "taken on some of the most powerful people in business and politics – and won."
His law firm has also received national recognition. It was named among the top litigation firms by BTI Consulting Group. His firm has also won The National Law Journal's Law Firm of the Year award. This was for cases involving age, civil rights, employment, race, and sexual orientation fairness. In 2021, Wigdor LLP received a high ranking from Chambers and Partners. It was also chosen as a top firm for Labor and Employment Law by Chambers USA for six years. Mr. Wigdor was named to the Forbes Top 200 Lawyers list and LawDragon's "500 Leading Lawyers in America" list in 2024.
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