Case Western law school dean Lawrence Mitchell, left, is accused of sexual harassment and retaliation by law professor Raymond Ku, right.

  • Case Western law school dean Lawrence Mitchell, left, is accused of sexual harassment and retaliation by law professor Raymond Ku, right.

Update: Lawrence Mitchell is taking an temporary leave of absence, as announced in an email from the dean of the CWRU law school this morning.

Screengrab of his note below, which mentions that the lawsuit has become a distraction, that this will all be put behind him once the legal system takes its course, and that this will all the university to conduct its own independent review of the situation.

Screen_Shot_2013-11-06_at_8.55.45_AM.png

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Raymond Ku, a professor at the Case Western Reserve School of Law, filed suit today against the school and its dean, Lawrence Mitchell, in the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas. It alleges several incidents of sexual harassment by Mitchell towards staff and a relationship with a student, that other university administrators knew about it, and that Ku was a victim of retaliation after he reported it.

Read the lawsuit here:

Case Western Suit (PDF)
Case Western Suit (Text)

we will be updating this story with more information

This article appears in Oct 30 – Nov 5, 2013.

Doug Brown is a staff writer at Scene with a passion for public records laws and investigative reporting. A native of Ann Arbor, Mich., he has an M.A. in journalism from the Kent State University School of Journalism and Mass Communication and a B.A. in political science from Hiram College. Prior to joining Scene, Doug was a contributing writer for Deadspin.com, reporting behind-the-scenes stories about college sports through public records and developing sources. Doug's work as an enterprise reporter for the Daily Kent Stater was recognized by the Cleveland Press Club (2013 Ohio Excellence in Journalism Awards), Society of Professional Journalists (regional and national Mark of Excellence Awards), and the Associated Collegiate Press. He spent the summer of 2012 working for the Metro desk of the Cleveland Plain Dealer and spent previous summers working for Outside Bozeman Magazine and Crain's Detroit Business. His website is dougbrown8.com.

10 replies on “Lawsuit: Sexual Harassment and Retaliation in Case Western’s Law School (Updated)”

  1. Story I heard (not hearsay at all):

    Ku: “I want a semester sabbatical and then I’m leaving the university.”
    Mitchell: “No. Why would I do that?”
    Ku: “Well, if you don’t, I’ll sue you.”
    Mitchell: “For what”
    Ku: “I don’t know, Racial discrimination, Sexual harassment; I’ll come up with something.”
    Mitchell: “This isn’t worth it. Just take your sabbatical and get out of here.”

  2. Story I heard (not hearsay at all):

    Ku: “You should probably stop groping faculty members and propositioning students for sex. It’s unseemly, problematic, and… you know… gross. Also highly illegal, for what it’s worth.”
    Mitchell: “I’m sorry, I couldn’t hear you over how schwasted I am on free box wine, plus I’ve got sweet, sweet law student poontang on the brain. AMIRITE, CHINAMAN?!?! ME SO HAWWNY!” (makes asian eyes; goes for high five; is declined; becomes visibly morose)
    Ku: “That seems like an inappropriate response. Aren’t you concerned about the school’s reputation? Your reputation? Your potential liability? What if this gets out?”
    Mitchell: “Dude, I’m sorry, but I can’t have this conversation until you tell me whether or not that hot J-Date piece of ass you call a wife keeps her ladybits kosher, if you know what I mean.”
    Ku: “See you in court.”

  4. $20 that Mitchell has a “YOLO” trampstamp; $50 says he’d spend 15 minutes arguing with you about how subversive and postmodern it is before confessing that he was drunk on mai-tais and trying to impress a 20 y/o nursing major.

  5. I’ll never forget walking back to school one night from Qdoba (yes, I ashamedly admit I ate there during finals… like a lot), and seeing his car pull up in front of the starbucks there and a bunch of drunk female LLM students pile out. Why do you think he was so interested in Case Law’s “Pivot to the East?” So he could go have himself some, “adventures,” in the sex-trade centers of the world. What a sleazeball.

  6. What a creeper! As a CWRU alum, I’m perturbed by this….the law school already has a shitty rep out of all of the schools at CWRU. Let’s see how the annual fundraisers explain this to already pissed off law school alums.

  7. I work at CWRU, and Mitchell’s reputation is well known all over campus. It disturbs me that the university has a long history of retaliation on “whistle blowers.” CWRU seems to be above the law! The office of human resources and EEOC all report to a higher power at the university, and will never support a victim of sexual harassment, discrimination, etc. I know employees who filed complaints, instances where laws were broken, but CWRU never supported them, and in most cases terminated their employment. How can a university who receives federal money for grants, research, etc., get away with breaking laws? Sexual harassment and racism are federal laws.

  8. Forgive me for trying to post this again, since it did not go through (I think). In response to “newengland,” Tulane Law School is subject to a federal investigation for exactly that reason – e.g. taking federal money why deliberately not complying with federal law.

    A website named something like “Tulane Lies” (without a space, I think) might actually reference the specifics. I actually think there are TWO federal investigations into Tulane Law School or Dean Dave Meyer or Tulane because of it!

    Tulane Law keeps promoting and empowering a male law professor who is, at best, a dirty dog, and, at worse, has a history of being overtly abusive. The Tulane Provost – Mike Bernstein – and the Tulane President – Scott Cowen – know about the problem and tacitly support the egregious male misbehavior. Law school faculty and administration at some schools seems to be a haven for men who are not fond of empowered women or minorities.

  9. When laws are broken, the law breakers are accountable. Universities are accustomed to life “above the law.” We must break this cycle. Where are our public officials? You must hold CWRU accountable for retaliating against Professor Ku, there is no other way. If not, why are these laws in place?

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