MANUFACTURING
Law Firm Steps Down From Paul Marciano Investigation
A little more than three weeks after Guess? Inc. cofounder Paul Marciano relinquished his day-to-day duties following sexual-harassment allegations, the law firm that was investigating the accusations is stepping aside.
In a regulatory filing on March 12 with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Guess announced that the law firm O’Melveny & Myers would no longer handle the investigation. It is being turned over to Glaser Weil, the same law firm that is the legal counsel to the special committee formed to oversee the harassment investigation made by model Kate Upton.
On Jan. 31, the model posted accusations against Marciano, the cofounder, executive chairman and chief creative officer of the Los Angeles denim and clothing label founded in 1981. She alleged that Marciano abused his power at the pioneering fashion company, where she once modeled from 2010 to 2011.
“It’s disappointing that such an iconic women’s brand @GUESS is still empowering Paul Marciano as their creative director,” she posted on her Twitter and Instagram accounts. She ended the post with the hashtag #MeToo, the movement demanding that powerful men in the media and politics answer to sexual-harassment accusations.
Marciano, who was chief executive of the company until 2015 and headed up overseeing the company’s advertising campaigns, denies the allegations.
Since the allegations at the end of January, Guess has seen its stock price tumble nearly 20 percent to close at $14.92 a share on March 12.
