Southern Methodist University Association of Women Law Students v. Wynne and Jaffe
United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
599 F.2d 707 (5th Cir. 1979)
The Southern Methodist University Association of Women Law Students and four individually unnamed attorneys, identified only as Lawyers A through D (plaintiffs), sued two law firms (defendants) alleging sex discrimination in summer clerkship hiring, seeking to litigate anonymously to avoid retaliation from their current employers or disapproval from a state bar reportedly unwelcoming toward lawyers suing other lawyers; the trial court ordered them to reveal their true identities in response to defense interrogatories, and they appealed.
Whether filing a sex discrimination lawsuit against a law firm is a very private matter for lawyers, entitling them to remain anonymous.