Despite not being nominated for any awards, the Time’s Up movement was the star of last night’s Golden Globe Awards. Men and women attending the ceremony wore black in solidarity with those working to end workplace harassment, and numerous actresses used their platforms to speak about the newly established legal defense fund.
Before it’s formal launch, the Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund had already raised upwards of $13 million from more than 200 donors. This money will be used to help mitigate the costs of legal counsel for women across the country who share their stories of workplace harassment and potentially face retribution in the form of legal, career, or financial reprisal.
The Time’s Up website states that “the clock has run out on sexual assault, harassment and inequality in the workplace. It’s time to do something about it.” Our organization agrees with this creed, and we are proud to boast having a member who is intricately involved in the endeavor to bring equality into the workplace.
Patriotic Millionaire Roberta Kaplan, known for successfully arguing on behalf of her client in United States v. Windsor, is one of the lawyers spearheading the legal defense fund.
“For far too long, far too many women understandably feared sharing their experiences of sexual misconduct at the hands of powerful men because such men were protected by the intimidation that money and status can buy,” said Ms. Kaplan. “That is why my law firm, Kaplan and Company, LLP, represents Melanie Kohler, pro bono, a woman who was sued by famous Hollywood producer for sharing her #MeToo story on Facebook that Brett Ratner raped her. Kohler, who has neither wealth nor fame, had the courage to tell her story, even in the face of threats that she would be sued.”
“The whole point of Times Up is to give many more women the legal and other resources they need so that they too, like Melanie, can stand up and speak out.”