Genie E. Harrison

Plaintiffs' Employment Litigation, Sexual Harassment & Discrimination

Los Angeles

Genie Harrison is a well-known women's rights and employment attorney who has brought in some big wins for women, including the $100 million settlement for employees of video game publisher Riot Games. McCracken v. Riot Games, Inc., 18STCV03957 (L.A. Super. Ct., filed Nov. 6, 2018).

She was also part of the team that secured a $17 million settlement for some of Harvey Weinstein's victims. In re: The Weinstein Company Holdings LLC, 1:18-bk-10601 (Bankr. D. Del., filed March 19, 2018).

But winning high-profile verdicts and settlements for her clients isn't Harrison's principal goal. She wants the women to be able to choose. Some of her clients want to litigate, but others want to try to reach settlements without suing.

"As a women's rights lawyer and as a woman, I really feel strongly that people who have been through horrible abuses ... if they want to try to achieve justice short of filing ... I want top legal representation for them," she said.

Harrison sees that approach "as part of the dignity restoration and empowerment responsibility that I have as a lawyer to my clients."

"They feel so relieved about having had the opportunity to say, 'Here's what I choose,' because their choice had been taken away from them," she added. "That's the reason why they were coming to me in the first place."

Harrison is currently representing some women in high-profile court cases. One client is Jennifer Love, the first woman vice president of NFL Media in a discrimination, harassment and retaliation suit against the league. The complaint Harrison and co-counsel filed alleges Love was subjected to "pervasive sexism" and a "boys' club" atmosphere from her male colleagues.

Love was "the top woman at the NFL network" who "ultimately was driven out," Harrison said. Trial is set for December. Love v. NFL Enterprises LLC, 23STCV08388 (L.A. Super. Ct., filed April 14, 2023).

A month after the lawsuit was filed, the California and New York attorneys general cited it when they announced an investigation into the NFL workplace culture.

In a second ongoing case, Harrison is representing women employees suing another "boys club." She is handling a class action against Niantic, developer of the "Pokémon Go" mobile game, that alleges gender discrimination, unequal pay and a hostile work environment. Doe v Niantic, 23STCV15935 (L.A. Super. Ct., filed July 7, 2023).

The company moved to send the case to arbitration, but in late November, a judge ruled the federal Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021 bars the transfer. Harrison said the judge concluded that the broad language of the act covers gender-related equal-pay claims, not just sex harassment claims.

"It's a very significant ruling," she said.

In another pro-woman development, Harrison recently promoted two of her three associates to partner. "They're fabulous, really dedicated professionals and lawyers, and they earned their spot as partners," she said.

-- Don DeBenedictis