Ex-Client Sues Seyfarth, Seeks Treble Damages & Legal Fees
In a legal malpractice suit filed against Seyfarth Shaw and four current and former lawyers of the law firm, a former client is seeking not only standard-issue relief but treble damages and attorney fees under a Massachusetts consumer protection statute.
Plaintiff PCG Trading contends Seyfarth withdrew from its representation of another client, Converge Inc., in a manner that put PCG, a supply chain management company, at risk, when it acquired the assets of Converge, reports the National Law Journal in an article reprinted in New York Lawyer (reg. req.).
The Suffolk Superior Court suit also contends that Seyfarth didn’t adequately disclose to PCG the risk that retaining Seyfarth would make it more likely that courts would view PCG as having merged with Converge and thus liable for Converge’s judgment debts.
Under a 2007 ruling by a Massachusetts judge in Norfolk Superior Court judge, PCG is liable for a $3.32 million judgment—plus interest—in former Converge employee’s employment discrimination case against the company, and another $670,000 or so in legal fees and costs, according to the legal publication. the Norfolk judge ruled that PCG’s purchase of Converge was a “de facto merger” and a “fraudulent transfer.”
In an e-mail to the NLJ, Seyfarth describes the claims as “baseless” and promises a vigorous defense. The Chicago-based international firm is particularly known for its employment practice.
The four individual lawyers who are defendants in the suit either declined to comment or could not be reached for comment by the NLJ, although two have filed motions to dismiss and the other two plan to do so. Among the individual defendants is Richard Alfred, who chairs Seyfarth’s national wage-and-hour practice.
In an e-mail Alfred sent to Peter Woodford, who chairs Seyfarth’s ethics committee, Alfred admitted he “had not properly focused on the potential for conflict between the two clients,” the lawsuit contends.
Bill Brewer of Bickel & Brewer in Dallas represents PCG.
