Genie E. Harrison

Harrison said she believes in the basic dignity of people. That’s why her practice fights for people who have been taken advantage of.

“One of the natural consequences of being subjected to sexual harassment and sex abuse is that there’s a tremendous amount of embarrassment and shame, and many of the perpetrators actually play upon that,” Harrison said. “It’s incredibly difficult for victims oftentimes to talk about it and to feel that they’re being understood and that there’s real empathy from coming from the listener.”

Representing survivors of sexual assault is never easy, but Harrison charges forward in spite of the difficulties. She has filed suits against high-profile movie producer Harvey Weinstein, actor Kevin Spacey and music producer Noel “Detail” Fisher. Part of her work, she said, includes preparing her clients for the fallout that could happen when prominent people are accused of misconduct.

“There’s a magnifying lens on the entire case,” Harrison said. “I think oftentimes victims may not, because they’ve never been through the legal process before, realize just how uncomfortable the process is going to be.”

To assist her clients, Harrison created “Damages Genie,” an app that allows plaintiffs to log their daily emotional states. Attorneys can then use that data as proof for noneconomic damages. The app draws on words, phrases and descriptions commonly used by assault survivors to help users describe how they’re feeling each day.

“There was a level of lack of access to vocabulary and ability describe what they’re going through, so we’re giving them tools to be able to do that and wanting the plaintiffs to feel better taken care of,” Harrison said. “On the other end for the attorneys, I wanted to give them a tool that was going to help them do their best job on the noneconomic damages part of the case.”

Harrison also created “Incident Genie,” which allows survivors of assault and harassment to log photos, videos, and text that is marked by location and timestamped. For Harrison, these tools and the justice system are a way to help survivors heal.

“The choice that the client has if they go to mediation and try to resolve the case about whether to say, ‘I’m going to continue and go to trial’ or ‘I want to end it now on my terms’ is an important component of them regaining their power,” Harrison said.

— Nicole Tyau