Iowa Supreme Court cites Professor Soucek's article in sexual-harassment decision

The Iowa Supreme Court cited a 2019 article by Professor Brian Soucek and Yale Professor Vicki Schultz in suspending the license of former Iowa prosecutor Abraham K. Watkins. The court found that Watkins “created and fostered a culture of sexual harassment” at the Van Buren County Attorney’s Office.

The court relied on Soucek’s and Schultz’s University of Chicago Legal Forum article “Sexual Harassment by Any Other Name” in finding that sexual harassment includes not just sexual advances but “put downs …  aimed at degrading or demeaning women, often to maintain gender hierarchy.” The court also relied on the article for evidence about the prevalence of gender harassment in law firms.

Professor Soucek’s primary teaching and research interests are antidiscrimination law, civil procedure, constitutional law, and refugee/asylum law. He holds a J.D. from Yale Law School and a Ph.D. from Columbia University. He has clerked for U.S. District Court Judge Mark R. Kravitz in Connecticut, and Judge Guido Calabresi of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.