Trial date set in Bailey & Oliver Law Firm gender discrimination, equal pay lawsuit

A trial date has been set in a lawsuit against Bailey & Oliver Law Firm in Rogers alleging a violation of the Equal Pay Act (EPA).

Trial will be held in Fayetteville during a two-week period beginning July 23, 2018, according to a May 10 case management order, signed by District Judge Tim Brooks. The complaint was originally filed Jan. 10 in Benton County Circuit Court, but removed in February to U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas.

Discovery must be completed by March 5, 2018. A final pretrial conference is scheduled for July 17, 2018.

The case is expected to take four days to try before an eight-person jury, according to the filing. A more precise starting date will be set as the trial term approaches. If for some reason the case is bumped, the case will be re-set and tried during the back-up trial date set for the week of Sept. 17, 2018.

Hannah Newell alleges the law firm paid male attorneys at a higher rate during her employment. The firm and Sach Oliver, who owns the law office along with Frank Bailey, are the two named defendants.

Newell began working at Bailey & Oliver as a paralegal in July 2013, according to the filing. She is licensed and educated in England, but does not yet hold an Arkansas attorney’s license. She resigned June 29, 2016.