Ex-partner at law firm Katten seeks $67 million in age bias lawsuit

ReutersApr 17, 2025 10:28 PM

By David Thomas

April 17 (Reuters) - A former Katten Muchin Rosenman partner has sued the U.S. law firm and its top leadership for $67 million for allegedly crippling his practice and eventually firing him due to his age.

Stewart Herman, now 62, said Katten CEO Noah Heller slowly whittled down his aircraft-finance practice at the firm due to his age before dissolving the group altogether in February 2023.

He was asked to resign by Heller and the firm's general counsel out of fear that his age created a malpractice risk, according to lawsuit Herman filed on Saturday in Manhattan federal court.

Herman said resigning would have cost him his pension, which was worth at least $140,000 a year starting in 2024. The lawsuit alleged the firm began to lose revenue in 2022 and had an incentive to hold down its pension obligations.

The firm retaliated when Herman refused to resign, the lawsuit said, including by blocking him from taking on new clients and attending industry conferences, and suspending him without pay.

Herman said Heller admitted having "stereotyped views of lawyers in their 60s who had already worked nearly 40 years."

The firm in a statement called the lawsuit a "desperate and baseless action by a disgruntled former partner." Katten said it would "vigorously contest the allegations in the appropriate venue."

Herman, who is now a senior transactional attorney at Aero Law Center, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The lawsuit is seeking more than $67 million in damages, including $19.5 million in back pay. Herman said he billed $1,465 an hour in 2023, and his annual compensation at the firm ranged between $900,000 and $1.5 million.

He alleged the firm fired him in August 2023 as he was working on $100 million worth of deals for a longtime client.

"In one moment Heller had maliciously ended a client relationship I had spent 20 years building," Herman said.

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