(Bloomberg) -- DLA Piper, one of the biggest U.S. law firms, said it has decided to “part ways” with partner Louis Lehot after his colleague Vanina Guerrero accused the star Silicon Valley lawyer of sexually assaulting her.
“Despite the fact that the allegations have not been substantiated by the investigation to date, the firm has concluded for various reasons that it is in the best interest of the firm that we part ways with Louis Lehot,” three executives wrote in a memo to colleagues obtained by Bloomberg.
Guerrero, an immigrant from Colombia who's married with children, said Lehot assaulted her in Shanghai, Brazil, Chicago and Palo Alto. In a letter to her bosses and a filing to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Guerrero asked the firm to let her go to court instead of having to press her case in the secretive system of arbitration.
Read more: Star lawyer accused of sexually assaulting colleague
Lehot, a specialist in venture capital and private equity, had clients including SoftBank Group's Vision Fund, Slack Technologies Inc. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
Messages to Lehot, three executives at the law firm and the company's spokesman weren't immediately returned.
“We have taken this claim with the utmost seriousness,” DLA Piper's memo said. “We are saddened that this type of allegation has arisen at our firm.”
To contact the reporters on this story: Michelle F. Davis in New York at mdavis194@bloomberg.net;Max Abelson in New York at mabelson@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Michael J. Moore at mmoore55@bloomberg.net, Steve Dickson
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