Searching Firm’s Database to Support Bias Suit May Be Protected

An associate who sued her firm for employment discrimination may not have done anything wrong when she searched for and copied internal firm documents, including privileged communications, to help prove her case, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court held May 31 (Verdrager v. Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky & Popeo, P.C., 2016 BL 169748, Mass., SJC-11901, 5/31/16

The decision revived a high-profile lawsuit that accuses a prominent Boston-based firm of gender and pregnancy discrimination. It also established new law on a novel question of employment law that was further complicated by the plaintiff’s status as a lawyer.

The main issue ...