The New Adventures of the Old Christine

I was fired from my job at the DC law firm of Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld on October 29, 1991 after I lodged a harassment complaint against my supervisor, Chris Robertson. Chris Robertson was alleged, by other employees, to have made racist comments about African Americans.

Reportedly, after I left the firm's premises, Chris Robertson gathered her employees together to tell them that the firm (Stella Edmondson) had decided to change the office suite's lock to prevent me from unlawfully gaining access to the office. One coworker later told me that Chris Robertson had said to employees: "'You all know that Gary is gone. And they're coming to change the locks, because we're afraid Gary may come back and he may try to kill me.'"

Now, I ask you: Was that statement by my supervisor an allegation that I posed a physical threat or was it, in fact, an admission by my supervisor that she perceived me as a threat to her job?

My supervisor must have been aware that my personnel file included evidence that I had supervisory skills and that coworkers found me to be an inspiring supervisor. In November 1989, my then supervisor Constance Brown wrote the following about me:

"Gary is an invaluable, dedicated and highly-motivated individual who takes pride in his work and seems to thrive on heavy volume. Gary recently trained and supervised five temporary coders who were brought in to expedite the coding of some 200,000 pages of document production. In doing so, he inspired the group who were always eager to work and adopted Gary's own sense of commitment to the case. In was Gary who had reservations about temporary help and suggested they only code standard information; and he prepared the detailed summary in order to protect the integrity of the database. Also, Gary was instrumental in redesigning the document summary form to aid in more accurate coding an data entry of document production onto the Firm's network. Gary is as capable and conscientious in digesting depositions and hearing transcripts, always staying flexible and catering to individual needs. I appreciate the job that Gary has done and look forward to other projects with Gary's help. Constance M. Brown 11/6/89" Freedman v. D.C. Dept. Human Rights, record at 310.

Incidentally, among the people I supervised were John Falk, a young man originally from Scottsdale, Arizona. He said that he wanted to join the U.S. Marine Corps. Another person I supervised was Sandra Jones. She was originally from York, Pennsylvania. She said she was thinking of going to law school. Sandra Jones earned a degree in International Relations from Tufts University in 1988; she was a friend of Jesse Raben's at Tufts. Sandra Jones was eventually hired by Akin Gump as a full-time paralegal. I think she worked in the Toxic Torts practice group of the firm.

In any event, according to Otto Kernberg, MD, a creative employee will risk envy and attack by narcissistically-disturbed supervisors. Narcissistic supervisors will attempt to block or sabotage the promotion of honest and talented staff, who threaten them. Kernberg, O. "Ideology, Conflict and Leadership in Groups and Organizations" at 84 and 85 (New York: International Universities Press, 1998).

Days before I was terminated, I had requested a job promotion, during meetings with the firm's management partners. Chris Robertson wrote a critical memo to Dennis Race about me that would have had the effect of thwarting my request for promotion.

So I was done in by a racist. But, hey, that's my perception. And I have asymptomatic paranoid schizophrenia!