Former Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers partner Trae Vassallo told a jury that the male colleague whose conduct is at the center of a discrimination case against the firm showed up at her New York hotel room one night on a 2011 business trip in his bathrobe asking to come in.

It wasn’t the first time the co-worker had “hit” on her, Vassallo testified, recounting a 2009 incident at a Palo Alto, California, bar where she said then-Kleiner partner Ajit Nazre touched her with his legs under a table.

Vassallo said she didn’t tell anyone at the firm about the earlier encounter because she thought she had “shut it down” and assumed it wouldn’t happen again. When she initially complained about the second incident in New York to senior partner Ray Lane, he told her “you should be flattered,” Vassallo said in state court in San Francisco.

Vassallo was called to the witness stand by attorneys for Ellen Pao, who are seeking to show that women at Kleiner were harassed and retaliated against and the Silicon Valley firm tolerated gender discrimination.

Pao, who had an intimate affair with Nazre in 2006, sued the firm in 2012, saying she was pressured into the relationship and was passed over for promotions when she complained. Her allegations are focusing new attention on a startup culture and investing environment believed to favor men in the U.S. technology capital.

‘Wholly Justified’

Nazre was fired after Vassallo complained of sexual harassment to Kleiner’s other senior partners and an independent investigation found her claims “wholly justified,” according to Vassallo and Kleiner’s attorney.

Pao is seeking as much as $16 million in salary and bonuses she says she lost because Kleiner didn’t promote her and paid her less than male co-workers, including denying her a share in profit from the firm’s investments. She also claims she’s entitled to punitive damages because Kleiner’s conduct was malicious.

Vassallo’s testimony may bolster Pao’s claims that women were harassed and marginalized at Kleiner. She recounted feeling insulted when she was seated at the back of the room during an offsite meeting about green tech investment, in which she had played a leadership role, and was then asked by Lane to take notes for the gathering.

“A person who is taking notes can’t contribute to the conversation,” Vassallo told the jury. When she refused Lane’s request, Lane turned to Pao, who also turned him down, Vassallo said. “Ultimately some other person ended taking notes,” she said.

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