HBS Professor Gino Makes Changes to Legal Counsel in Discrimination Suit

Harvard Business School professor Francesca Gino has expanded her legal representation to include lawyers from employment firm Hartley Michon Robb Hannon LLP in an ongoing discrimination lawsuit filed against Harvard in 2023.

Gino is currently on unpaid administrative leave from Harvard after an investigation by three behavioral researchers from blog Data Colada alleged in June 2023 that Gino had falsified information in four of her published papers. She denied the claims and sued Harvard and Data Colada bloggers Uri Simonsohn, Leif D. Nelson, and Joseph P. Simmons, for defamation days later.

A judge dismissed her defamation claims in September, but Gino later added claims of Title VII violations and gender discrimination onto existing claims of Title IX violations. Gino alleged that the University dealt her a harsher punishment than male professors accused of similar misconduct.

Gino was formerly represented solely by Nesenoff & Miltenberg LLP, the same law firm that currently represents former Harvard women’s ice hockey coach Katey Stone, who also sued for gender discrimination after the University investigated allegations of toxicity. Stone retired in June 2023.

Andrew T. Miltenberg, one of Gino’s attorneys from Nesenoff & Miltenberg wrote in a statement following the September ruling that “we are pleased with the court’s decision to allow this litigation to continue.”

“Harvard will have to answer for how they have destroyed her career and put every member of the Harvard faculty at risk,” he wrote.

Julie A. Sacks, an attorney from Nesenoff & Miltenberg, withdrew from representing Gino as a plaintiff in the ongoing case on Dec. 18, according to court filings. Sacks and a spokesperson for Gino did not respond to requests for comment.

Hartley Michon Robb Hannon employment lawyers Patrick J. Hannon and Barbara A. Robb joined Gino’s legal team on Jan. 27.

Hannon declined to comment on the status of the case, but added that “our firm takes great pride in representing individuals who have been wronged by large and powerful institutions.”

“Doing so is never easy, but we believe in Professor Gino and she has entrusted us to fight this battle on her behalf. We look forward to doing so.”

According to the filings, other attorneys from Nesenoff & Miltenberg will continue to represent Gino.

An HBS spokesperson declined to comment on the filing. Gino’s media relations team also did not give comment on the filing.

—Staff writer Graham W. Lee can be reached at graham.lee@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @grahamwonlee.