By Bernard Vaughn

NEW YORK, Jan 9 (Reuters) - A federal judge dismissed a discrimination lawsuit by a former contract attorney at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan who accused the firm of giving her less lucrative assignments because she is black.

U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain in Manhattan granted summary judgment to the firm in the case filed by Kisshia Simmons-Grant, who had said non-black colleagues received better assignments even though she was as qualified or more qualified than them.

Simmons-Grant, who worked at the firm's New York office from 2006 to 2010, relied in part in her case on statistical data about pay comparisons for black and non-black attorneys at the firm.

But the judge ruled that Simmons-Grant failed to show proof to support a claim that she individually was a victim of discrimination. The decision was issued on Jan. 3.

"Individual private plaintiffs must prove that they were, individually, the victims of intentional discrimination," Swain wrote.

Swain also deemed Simmons-Grant's retaliation claim "wholly inadequate ... as to whether Quinn intentionally subjected her to an intolerable work environment."

The lawsuit was filed in October 2011. It claimed violations of federal, state and local civil rights laws and sought lost past and future earnings and compensation for mental anguish, as well as punitive damages and attorneys' fees.

The attorney for Quinn Emanuel, Lawrence Sandak of Proskauer Rose in Newark, New Jersey, declined to comment.

Simmons-Grant's attorney, James Halter of Liddle & Robinson in New York, did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

The case is Simmons-Grant v. Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 11-7706.

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