A Messy Situation

The North Carolina State Bar has filed a disciplinary complaint alleging that a former attorney with Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice represented directly adverse interests in labor and employment matters.

The attorney allegedly advised a company deputy general counsel (Snider) concerning an employment discrimination claim against the company, also a client.

He is further alleged to have (i) disobeyed firm orders to cease the representation and (ii) deleted all relevant emails from the firm’s system.

The emails were later retrieved by the firm.

He is charged with dishonesty ‘[b]y advising Snider that some scrubbing of their email might be good if they could figure out how to do it without making anything worse…”

There is a second count alleging misconduct in his own divorce. The allegations also involve Snider.

The attorney allegedly prepared and filed a false document.

The falsity

In 2003, Snider told me after a mutual sexual encounter that did not include intercourse (and which never did) that “if this is to continue” there “would be a cost.” She explained that I need to provide funds to her in the form of regular payments totaling $120,000 per year (with a $10,000 floor) supplemented by gifts which were discretionary in amount but which did not result in credits to my obligations to her.

His wife sued Snider for criminal conversation, alienation of affection and negligent infliction of emotional distress. Snider sued him for intentional infliction of emotional distress for the false statements.

He defaulted in Snider’s suit. (Mike Frisch)