When Joseph Stropnicky separated from his physician wife, he sought an attorney who had experience representing homemakers because he had taken care of the kids and the housework during much of their 18-year marriage. Attorney Judith Nathanson seemed perfect, but she turned him down because she said she only represented women. So Stropnicky filed a complaint with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination, which decided Nathanson broke the law and ordered her to pay Stropnicky $50,000 for emotional distress.

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