Another Drastic Move After Switch In USSF Legal Team
March 13, 2020 by Phoebe Coddington
USWNT vs. USSF Equal Pay Case Update
Merely one day after United States Soccer Federation (“USSF”) President Carlos Cordeiro apologized for the sexist arguments used in the USSF’s summary judgment filings, Cordeiro announced his resignation from USSF. He stated, “The arguments and language contained in this week’s legal filing caused great offense and pain, especially to our extraordinary Women’s National Team players who deserve better. It was unacceptable and inexcusable.” He went on to state he did not have the opportunity to review the brief in its entirety and would have objected to the language had he reviewed.
While it is not always easy to give clients time to review legal filings before they are due to be filed, when the stakes are this high and the issues are this important, attorneys must do their very best to provide the client with ample time for review. After all of this public outcry, Cordeiro’s resignation and change in the legal team, it will be interesting to see whether USSF makes the decision to file revised briefs to remove that section of their argument. In the meantime, USSF will need to adjust its legal strategy extremely quickly to get ready for the imminently-approaching trial.