NEW YORK (AP) — A major New York-based law firm says there's no truth to a former finance chief's lawsuit saying she was demoted and then fired after taking sick leave to fight breast cancer.

Proskauer Rose LLP called Elly Rosenthal's discrimination claims "meritless" in a statement Thursday. The firm says it has steadfastly supported workers who were sick or needed to have disabilities accommodated.

The 57-year-old Rosenthal filed a $10 million discrimination suit Wednesday. She says she did well for 16 years as Proskauer's chief financial officer, until she took three months off to recover from breast cancer surgery in 2008.

She says she returned to a lesser job, was replaced as CFO by a less-qualified man and abruptly got fired last March.

The firm says it's confident its actions will be vindicated.