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Contesting Workplace Discrimination in Court - American Bar ...

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LEGAL REPRESENTATIONDismissal isthe most likelyoutcome when thecompla<strong>in</strong>ant filespro se, account<strong>in</strong>gfor a enormous 40percent of all suchcases (compared toan 11 percentdismissal ratewhen thepla<strong>in</strong>tiff hasrepresentation).Whether or not a pla<strong>in</strong>tiff files a compla<strong>in</strong>t pro se appears to be one of the few case characteristics that diverges greatly from thegeneral outcome pattern shown repeatedly throughout the preced<strong>in</strong>g sections. As illustrated <strong>in</strong> Figure 5.8, outright dismissal isthe most likely outcome when the compla<strong>in</strong>ant files pro se, account<strong>in</strong>g for an enormous 40 percent of all such cases (comparedto an 11 percent dismissal rate when the pla<strong>in</strong>tiff has representation). Moreover, just 24 percent of pro se cases end <strong>in</strong> settlement,compared to 63 percent when the pla<strong>in</strong>tiff has an attorney. However, legal representation does not seem to affect the likelihoodof go<strong>in</strong>g to trial (about 5.5 percent for both categories). There appears to be an obvious lesson here: when an aggrieved <strong>in</strong>dividualseeks redress for alleged discrim<strong>in</strong>ation, some type of representation is absolutely essential.figure 5.8 :percentage of caseoutcomes by legal representationsettleddismissedsummary judgmenttrial-36-

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