Nathanson v. MCAD

Attorney Judith Nathanson (plaintiff) refused to represent men in her divorce practice, and when Joseph Stropnicky sought her representation and was refused, he filed a discrimination complaint with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (defendant), which ordered Nathanson to cease and desist her discriminatory practice; Nathanson sued for review, arguing the Commission lacked jurisdiction over attorney conduct (which she claimed belonged exclusively to the state supreme court and bar), that ethical rules requiring zealous representation prevented her from representing men given her commitment to representing divorcing women, and that the order violated her constitutional rights to free speech and association.