It’s been a little over a month since then house launcha bustling corporate club backed by a company backed by the likes of Andreessen Horowitz and Day One Ventures, has publicly faced numerous allegations of harassment and assault.
In response to allegations first surfaced by Vox newsreelThe startup has claimed that it will be subject to an independent third-party investigation. But Like some of the former members of Launch House notes that the firm uses the same law firm in both the defamation warnings and the independent investigation.
While it’s not a violation for the law firm itself to deal with two fairly interconnected legal issues – one on behalf of the Launch House for defamation and the other to consider allegations raised by victims – it is a visual challenge. After all, Launch House has announced that the company is expected to conduct an impartial investigation, but is not really a “third party” if the company itself is going after employees, members, and journalists who speak out about the allegations.
Indeed, the emergence of a conflict of interest — or the idea that law firm Benesch Friedlander Coplan & Aronoff, LLP — could provide more positive results for Launch House due to its other work with the startup, was enough to fundamentally change the boat. Following TechCrunch’s inquiry about the Launch House’s large reliance on the outfit, co-founder and CEO Brett Goldstein He said the startup has asked the law firm to finish its investigation into the company and is turning to another law firm for its new perspective.
In a statement sent via the spokesperson to TechCrunch, Goldstein said:
Launch House has asked Benesch Friedlander Coplan & Aronoff, LLP to end its investigation and will engage a new law firm, one that has not worked with Launch House before, to conduct a thorough, independent investigation.
Goldstein added that a completely separate team within Benesch Friedlander Coplan & Aronoff was working on the investigation, and that Launch House “was confident in their ability to remain impartial with these standard separation practices.”
However, in his statement, he said, “We don’t even want any dispute to arise, so a new law firm will be contracted as soon as possible to conduct this crucial work… We must know exactly what happened, so we better ensure that it doesn’t happen again.” “. TechCrunch reached out to an attorney at the law firm, but did not immediately receive a response.
The company’s latest town hall, conducted at the end of September, has developed a forward-looking plan for its community. Beyond the investigation, the company claims to be working with Diversity, Equity and Inclusion to audit and update its operations. It also said it was expanding the zero-tolerance policy to include a wider range of misconduct.
The entire surface is titled “What’s next for the Launch House.” publicly available.
