Centerview Settles Suit Over Young Banker Hours
The bank’s settlement with a former analyst shortly before trial resolves a case that was set to examine the responsibilities of one of finance’s most-grueling jobs
Boutique investment bank Centerview Partners settled a lawsuit with former analyst Kathryn Shiber shortly before trial.
Shiber alleged Centerview illegally fired her due to a disability after she received an accommodation for mood and anxiety disorders.
The case was set to interrogate whether being available at all hours is an essential function of the demanding analyst role.
Boutique investment bank Centerview Partners agreed to settle a lawsuit with a former analyst shortly before trial, resolving a case that was set to examine the responsibilities of one of the most grueling jobs in finance.
The terms of the settlement couldn’t immediately be learned.
Plaintiff Kathryn Shiber alleged in the lawsuit, which she initially filed in 2021, that Centerview illegally fired her because of a disability. Centerview had previously moved to dismiss the case, arguing in court filings that there was no reasonable accommodation that would have allowed Shiber to perform the essential parts of the role.
The trial had been set to begin Monday and was expected to feature testimony from senior executives at Centerview, including the firm’s co-president Tony Kim, as well as Shiber. Bankers across Wall Street have been following the lawsuit and anticipating the trial and its implications for the industry.
“There is a genuine dispute of fact whether the ability to be available at all hours of the day and to work long, unpredictable hours is an essential function of the analyst role,” Judge Edgardo Ramos wrote in an October opinion detailing why the case would go to trial.
In a statement Saturday, Centerview said it believed the lawsuit’s legal claims had no merits and that it had been confident it would prevail at trial.
“But we are nonetheless happy to put this distraction behind us and focus on delivering for our clients,” the statement from a spokesman said.
“Ms. Shiber is pleased to close this chapter and looks forward to what comes next,” said Brian Heller, a lawyer for Shiber.
Shiber at one point sought up to $20 million, related to lost potential earnings, emotional impact and punitive damages against the firm.
A settlement between the two parties comes just a few days after the judge seemed to cast doubt on Shiber’s ability to claim the millions of dollars in compensation. During a pretrial conference Thursday, the judge said at one point that it would be improper for the jury to consider what she would have earned had she stayed at Centerview beyond the three-year program.
Entry-level investment banking positions, especially at top banks like Centerview, are coveted roles on Wall Street among recent college graduates and can act as steppingstones to long careers in financial services. But they demand long hours—sometimes over 100-hour weeks—spent doing basic tasks, like formatting slide decks or filling in spreadsheets. In exchange, analysts in their first years on Wall Street routinely make well above six figures.
The unforgiving conditions for young Wall Street bankers, long seen as rites of passage for those looking to strike it rich in finance, have drawn renewed scrutiny after the deaths of multiple young bankers at other banks in the last several years. Guardrails meant to protect young bankers are often ignored, The Wall Street Journal has reported.
Centerview is one of the dominant boutique investment banks on Wall Street, booking roughly $1.9 billion in revenue in 2024, the Journal has reported. Founded in 2006 by a group of rainmaker bankers, the firm in recent years has regularly ranked in the top 10 banks by total merger value advised on.
Shortly after Shiber started in Centerview’s three-year analyst program in 2020, she was assigned to work on a large merger, code-named “Project Dragon,” which entailed working until 1 a.m. for multiple days in a row, according to her lawsuit. Shiber was granted an accommodation to help her manage unspecified mood and anxiety disorders: a window from midnight to 9 a.m. in which she would not have to work, the lawsuit said.
Roughly two weeks after that accommodation was granted, Shiber was terminated. An executive told Shiber she couldn’t perform the essential functions of the analyst role if she wasn’t available at any hour, according to the lawsuit.
Centerview in court filings has argued that being available at all hours and working unpredictably during an active deal is a basic requirement of the investment banking analyst job. Shiber, the bank’s lawyers argued, was unable to meet those requirements.