Cole Schotz settles suit against lawyer accused of revealing confidential documents in bid to injure BigLaw
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A federal judge in New Jersey has dismissed Cole Schotz’s claims against a former bankruptcy associate whom it had accused of revealing two confidential law firm documents and threatening to disclose even more.
U.S. District Judge Claire Cecchi of the District of New Jersey ordered dismissal of Cole Schotz’s claims in a Jan. 29 order after the parties informed the court that they had resolved the matter.
Law360 has coverage of the settlement.
Cole Schotz had claimed that the former associate, Myles MacDonald, posted confidential law firm documents on LinkedIn as part of a quest to injure BigLaw. The law firm obtained a restraining order in November in its suit alleging misappropriation of trade secrets and breach of the duty of loyalty.
MacDonald had written an online manifesto that said he is on a quest to injure BigLaw and to “feel human.”
MacDonald told Law.com that he learned that he had bipolar disorder sometime after the incident, and he thinks his posting of the documents was an early manifestation of the illness. Now, he takes medication and receives treatment.
MacDonald said he left Cole Schotz when it denied a transfer to its office in New York, which was the location of a woman whom MacDonald was dating. He joined Lowenstein Sandler in New York and helped bring in a new client, but the firm didn’t give him the help he needed on the case, he alleged. He was fired and joined a firm in his hometown of Nashville, Tennessee, but he was dismissed after he had “a major manic episode,” he said.
MacDonald told Law.com that he is considering becoming a writer or legal consultant.
“I just have to figure it out and I’ll be fine,” he said.
He writes about his experience with mental illness, including a struggle with depression, at his blog, Meditations of a Bipolar Attorney. In his writings, he advocates for better working conditions for associates and for having a voice in how their firms are run.
