Law Firm Withdraws From Representing HBS Prof. Gino in Suit Against Harvard

Harvard Business School professor Francesca Gino is no longer represented by Title IX law firm Nesenoff & Miltenberg after four attorneys from the firm withdrew from her discrimination case against Harvard on Thursday.

The changes leave two lawyers from the firm Hartley Michon Robb Hannon LLP as her sole representatives in the case, which Gino filed against Harvard and research blog Data Colada for $25 million in 2023 after being placed on a two-year unpaid administrative leave.

Three of the lawyers who withdrew on Thursday — Andrew T. Miltenberg, Tara Davis, and Kara L. Gorycki — had represented Gino since she first filed her complaint. The fourth Nesenoff & Miltenberg lawyer, Regina M. Federico, joined Gino’s team in March 2024.

The Nesenoff & Miltenberg attorneys declined to comment on their withdrawal from the lawsuit.

Data Colada first published data fraud allegations against Gino in 2021. Business School Dean Srikant M. Datar placed Gino on leave after an HBS investigation determined that research misconduct had occurred in Gino’s work.

U.S. District Court Judge Myong J. Joun dismissed Gino’s defamation charges against the University in September 2024, but allowed Gino’s accusation of unfair disciplinary action to remain on the table.

After Joun’s partial dismissal, Gino revised her complaint to incorporate additional sex-based discrimination claims under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which governs discrimination in employment decisions.

Gino is now represented by Patrick J. Hannon and Barbara A. Robb, lawyers from Hartley Michon Robb Hannon. Both joined Gino’s legal team on Jan. 27, a month after Nesenoff & Miltenberg lawyer Julie A. Sacks withdrew from the case on Dec. 18.

The change comes as Gino’s unpaid administrative leave nears its end, as the two-year suspension began in June 2023 and would be expected to end this coming June. Gino’s tenure was placed under review by the University in July 2023. So far, no resolution to the review has been made public.

Nesenoff & Miltenberg still represents former Harvard women’s ice hockey coach Katey Stone, who sued the University for gender discrimination in 2024 after she departed Harvard following allegations from former players that her coaching practices were abusive.

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