Risk & Confidentiality — Firms Fight Solar DQ Scrap, Internal Information Security Management Gaps and Gaffs
Posted on“Norton Rose Lawyers Accused of Accessing Confidential Material in Internal IT Probe” —
- “Over 20 associates and trainees at Norton Rose Fulbright’s South Africa offices had unauthorized access to confidential information, including sensitive documents and personal email exchanges between directors, according to sources familiar with an internal probe.”
- “In a statement shared with Law.com International, Norton Rose South Africa CEO Brent Botha confirmed that some of the employees accessed information about internal affairs but the matter has since been resolved. No client information was compromised, he said.”
- “According to sources, the management team held a brief meeting with a group of junior lawyers at the firm on October 28, where it gave those implicated in the IT probe until midday on November 1 to disclose the amount of information they accessed, the frequency of access and what they did with the information.”
- “‘There can be no excuse for reading something pertinently marked as confidential and which was not addressed to you,’ one of the firm leaders said during the meeting.”
- “The October 28 meeting was followed by a letter, seen by Law.com International, that came from the firm’s CEO and officially notified those implicated in the investigation of the window period for confession. ‘An internal investigation has confirmed that some associates and candidate attorneys indeed accessed information and directors’ non-matter folders over a projected period of time. We have an extensive list of who accessed what,’ the letter said.”
- “But some of the lawyers, who spoke on condition that they not be named, blamed the breach on the inadequacies of iManage, the document and email management platform for legal professionals acquired by the firm over two decades ago.”
- “Norton Rose bought a license for iManage’s full product suite in the early 2000s after it switched from rival software Hummingbird, citing the need for a robust system architecture and collaboration functionality.”
- “FileSite, a major collaborative function of the iManage package, gives staff access to their colleagues’ emails and folders—except when a digital lock is activated, according to Norton Rose employees. Some of the directors and other lawyers who are not tech-savvy do not usually activate the necessary privacy measures, they added.”
- “iManage declined to comment for this story.”
“Attys For Solar Co. Ex-CEO Should Be DQ’d, Plaintiffs Say” —
- “The lawyers representing the former CEO of a bankrupt solar energy company should be disqualified, attorneys for the plaintiffs in a suit against him said Wednesday, arguing that the firm had multiple conflicts of interest with its work as in-house counsel for the solar energy company and was intentionally delaying discovery because of its ‘obvious web of conflicting obligations.'”
- “New York-based business firm DarrowEverett LLP should not be able to represent Jayson Waller — founding CEO of Power Home Solar, now operating as Pink Energy —in a case related to claims that he defrauded customers by selling faulty solar systems, counsel for Michigan residents told a Michigan federal court Wednesday, because the firm’s ability to represent Waller is ‘severely undermined’ by its ties to Power Home Solar and its current bankruptcy proceedings.”
- “‘DE’s (faulty) interpretation of its obligations to the trustee has prevented it from assisting Waller in complying with his discovery obligations — to plaintiffs’ detriment,’ plaintiffs’ counsel said in a motion to disqualify.”
- “According to the motion, Waller’s counsel, led by DarrowEverett attorney David Sullivan, have been intentionally delaying discovery because of the firm’s complicated history with Power Home Solar, which is being accused of racketeering and wire fraud. The chairman of DarrowEverett, Zachary Darrow, was named chief legal officer to Power Home Solar in June 2021, according to the motion, and the firm represented the energy company in various arbitrations and litigations even predating that role.”
- “‘At minimum, that makes those lawyers, and likely the firm itself, key witnesses,’ the motion said. ‘But Darrow’s ‘direction’ of [Power Home Solar], potentially renders him an unnamed member of the RICO organization.'”
- “The suit, filed by Michigan residents Aaron Hall, Katherine Glod and Jeffrey Binder in November 2022, claims Pink Energy used aggressive and misleading sales tactics to sell them overpriced solar panel systems that either didn’t work or fell far short of the promised energy-saving benefit.”
- “Darrow was one of only four ‘C’-level executives listed on Power Home Solar’s website, according to the motion, and documents produced by other defendants in the case showed that Darrow was ‘responsible for leading all of Pink Energy’s legal and regulatory strategies, along with providing executive level oversight and enhancement of the company’s compliance and enterprise risk management programs.’ This meant, according to the motion, that he also had a direct role in the company’s marketing and advertising campaigns, which are alleged by class members to be fraudulent.”
- “The firm’s conflict deepened even further when, in addition to representing Waller, it also agreed to represent two nonparty witnesses who were being deposed in the case, former Trivest partner Dale Stohr, as well as his company MGG Investment Group LP, and Kevin Klink, a former PHS employee who is identified in Waller’s interrogatory responses as being in charge of PHS’ advertising campaigns.”
- “The firm’s representation of these witnesses is adverse with its representation of Waller, plaintiffs’ counsel say, because Waller has asserted in discovery that someone else other than him were responsible for Pink Energy’s marketing materials, which plaintiffs say is a direct contradiction of sworn testimony.”
- “‘Regardless, fraudulent advertisements are an essential aspect of the predicate acts of wire fraud at the heart of this case,’ the motion said. ‘Pointing the finger at other entities which either (1) are [DarwinEverett]; or (2) are owed duties by [DarrowEverett] complicates things yet further, requiring [DarrowEverett] to choose between loyalty to Waller on the one hand, and the trustee, Klink, their boss, and their law firm on the other.'”
- “DarrowEverett attorneys have filed a number of motions and requests for sanctions against plaintiffs’ counsel, all in an effort to stall discovery, the motion claims. Initially, the firm helped Waller file a motion for judgment on the case that challenged the facts of the suit and the state’s jurisdiction, which plaintiffs said were ‘made without any support and in direct contradiction of the truth.'”
- “Plaintiffs’ counsel claim that DarrowEverett is advising Waller against his better interests with all this stalling, and is instead protecting its own neck in regard to both Darrow and the firm’s involvement in the alleged fraudulent activity and, now, its representation of other witnesses. “
- “‘The delay, stonewalling, mudslinging, and disregard for the court’s directives in this case all share a common origin: DE’s conflicts of interest,’ the motion said. ‘As a result, there is only one way to remedy those ailments. DarrowEverett should be disqualified.'”