By Megan Leonhardt

Law360, New York (November 30, 2011, 6:32 PM ET) -- The Second Circuit on Wednesday refused to revive gender discrimination claims brought against Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. by a financial analyst who claimed the firm directed lucrative client accounts disproportionately to male employees.

In a published opinion, the appeals court affirmed a New York federal court’s decision to dismiss Roberta Schwartz’s petition to vacate an arbitration panel’s findings that Merrill Lynch did not violate federal gender discrimination laws.

The court shot down Schwartz’s argument that the arbitrators' refusal to consider evidence of allegedly discriminatory acts...