The Google software engineer fired for writing an internal memo critical of diversity hiring policies at the company faces an uphill battle legally challenging his termination, but he could succeed in prolonging the controversy, potentially driving the tech firm to settle, legal experts said on Tuesday.

James Damore told Reuters in an email on Monday that he had been fired by Google, a unit of Alphabet Inc, for “perpetuating gender stereotypes” in his 10-page memo, which asserted Google had “a left bias” hostile to conservative viewpoints and argued that the lack of representation of women in leadership roles in the tech industry was due to biological differences rather than discrimination.

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William Gould, a Stanford law professor and former National Labor Relations Board chairman, said Google had a strong argument its firing of Damore was justified on the grounds that his memo raised questions about whether he could fairly assess the work of female colleagues.

Gould said Damore would have a tough time arguing his firing violated his right to free speech. Private employers can largely fire workers for any reason. Some states including California have laws protecting political speech by employees but that protection would probably not apply to an internal memo focused on Google’s own policies, Gould said.