Book Review: Class Action: The Story Of Lois Jenson And The Landmark Case That Changed Sexual Harassment Law

This is the book upon which the movie North Country is based. I recommend both.

The book is well-written and a quick read. The story of the legal case is balanced well with the story of the women involved in the lawsuit. The authors had access to a lot of information, but the defense lawyers did not agree to be interviewed so their strategies can only be gleaned by the publicly-available documents and transcripts. Thus, when compared to A Civil Action by Jonathan Harr (an excellent legal book by which I judge all others), where Mr. Harr had total access to plaintiff and defense, the story is incomplete. Given the nature of the case, sexual harassment, versus the nature of the case in A Civil Action, environmental torts, the loss is not that great though. In A Civil Action the legal issue was the cause-and-effect relationship between ground water contamination and the diseases the residents developed. Reading Class Action there seems to be no real issue that there was a hostile work environment. In fact, it is shocking nearly to the point of unbelievability to read about the abuses the women suffered. An interview with the defense attorney, therefore, is not going to add much to that part of the story.

This story, like many others, reminds you that our legal system is inherently imperfect and reactionary. Although the women ultimately "won" their case, they had much more taken from them than money could ever repay.