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Harvard Crimson Features Gordon Law Group Client

Gordon Law Group — Sat, 04 Apr 2015 02:33:35 GMT

The student-run newspaper The Harvard Crimson recently featured a high-profile tenure lawsuit involving a former professor and client represented by Gordon employment attorneys. The case, referenced in the article “Former Professor Suing University Granted Tenure at Tufts” (April 3, 2015), brought renewed attention to fair hiring standards, tenure tracking inequities, retaliation patterns, and transparency gaps in academic institutions.

The lawsuit challenged an alleged history of discriminatory treatment, flawed faculty evaluation processes, and procedural barriers that negatively impacted the professor’s career advancement. What made the case especially significant was the outcome that followed: the professor was offered and ultimately granted a faculty appointment—including tenure consideration—at Tufts University, a major academic employer in the Boston area.

Hiring Bias in Academic Workplaces

Academic institutions rely heavily on structured hiring protocols, performance benchmarking, promotion committees, publication metrics, peer-reviewed contributions, student evaluation frameworks, departmental budgeting authorities, and faculty oversight panels. However, when internal evaluation systems become:

Subjective without standardized scoring,
Influenced by informal networking lanes,
Lacking transparent salary and tenure benchmarking, or
Dismissive toward internal bias complaints,

the result may produce discrimination at scale—often disguised under institutional policy language rather than overt intent.

Why This Case Matters for Tenure Rights

This event marked an important shift because it highlighted that:

✔ Career opportunities lost due to procedural bias can lead to legal accountability
✔ The definition of discrimination in academia is measured by impact—not presentation format
✔ Documentation gaps do not erase liability if retaliation or biased oversight occurred
✔ Tenure systems must maintain fair academic core standards and procedural coherence
✔ Written policies must be paired with equal access to opportunity and measurable accountability

“Former Professor Suing University Granted Tenure at Tufts,” The Crimson (April 3, 2015) (View Article)

Boston Globe Features and Harvard Professor

Gordon Law Group — Fri, 13 Jun 2014 02:36:42 GMT

One of Gordon Law Group’s clients, Harvard professor Dr. Kimberly Theidon, was featured in The Boston Globe this morning. The piece is the latest in a slew of articles and interviews about the Professor, who was denied tenure last spring. Theidon will now take a tenured faculty position at Tufts University.

One of the clients of Gordon Law Group LLP, Harvard Law professor Dr. Kimberly Theidon, appeared this morning in The Boston Globe. The article follows a wave of national debate on Title IX tenure and gender equity in academia.

Last spring, Harvard denied her tenure. After the decision, she accepted a new tenured faculty role at Tufts University.

Dr. Theidon has brought Title IX claims against Harvard University, stating that she believes the university discriminated against her because of her gender and for openly supporting victims of sexual assault on campus.

You can read the full article here.

You can also read and watch Philip Gordon and Dr. Theidon’s interviews with the Huffington Post, MSNBC and ABC-Boston.

If you would like to learn more about Title IX, check out our Title IX page, our FAQ page or contact us today.

Huffington Post Interviews Philip Gordon About Harvard University Professor Denied Tenure

Gordon Law Group — Thu, 17 Apr 2014 02:27:50 GMT

hilip Gordon, together with Elizabeth Rodgers of Rodgers, Powers & Schwartz LLP, is leading a Title IX lawsuit against Harvard University. They represent Dr. Kimberly Theidon, an accomplished anthropology professor at Harvard University who has seemingly been denied tenure for supporting students who were victims of sexual assault and critical of Harvard’s approach to their cases. Click here to read an interview by Tyler Kingkade with Theidon, Gordon and Rodgers. Colleges and universities across the country are facing ever-increasing scrutiny as to how they deal with instances of sexual assault on campus, including Harvard University where students have filed a separate Title IX complaint to the U.S. Department of Education. Title IX protects students against sexual harassment and sexual violence because it denies the student the right to an education free from discrimination. There has been a wave of exposure in the media, including coverage of Theidon’s case which you can read here. You can also read the Huffington Post’s coverage of Harvard’s students’ complaint by clicking here.

Philip Gordon Speaks With ABC Boston on Title IX and Sexual Assault Issues

Gordon Law Group — Sat, 01 Mar 2014 02:27:19 GMT

Philip is representing Dr. Kimberly Theidon, a professor at Harvard University, in a Title IX case against the school. Theidon was seemingly denied tenure after supporting students who were victims of sexual assault at the university. This follows a wave of cases nationwide involving the mishandling of sexual assault cases by universities and colleges. You can read and watch Theidon’s exclusive interview with Karen Anderson, featuring Philip Gordon, with ABC Boston’s Team 5 Investigates. here.