Centerview settles suit over junior banker's claims about grueling hours

Centerview Partners and former junior banker Kathryn Shiber reached a settlement just before the case was set to go to trial in Manhattan federal court. The terms of the settlement were not disclosed. The agreement ends a lawsuit that had put Wall Street's demanding work culture under scrutiny.

Shiber alleged the boutique bank violated disability-discrimination laws when it fired her in 2020 after she said she needed eight to nine hours of sleep nightly because of a mood and anxiety disorder. Court filings and depositions described first-year analysts working between 60 and 120 hours a week, with testimony that 'in some projects, you are working 24 hours a day.' Emails shown in the case highlighted the job's unpredictability; an associate told her that 'there will always be more for you to do.' Centerview denied wrongdoing.

'Centerview has said all along that Ms. Shiber's legal claims have no merit,' a Centerview spokesperson said. 'We were ready to prove that in court, and are confident we would have prevailed at trial.

United States, Manhattan

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