GE Battles a Second In-House Lawyer in Court
Two in-house lawyers for General Electric are facing the company in courtroom battles.
In the most recent case, fired lawyer Adriana Koeck is defending a GE lawsuit that seeks return of confidential e-mails, memos and legal opinions she is accused of misappropriating, Corporate Counsel reports. The company contends she gave the documents to a reporter and two government agencies. It seeks an injunction barring disclosure of privileged information.
The publication cites a report in the Corporate Crime Reporter that Koeck filed a whistle-blower complaint with the U.S. Department of Labor, and sent information to the fraud section at the U.S. Department of Justice. The documents apparently concerned the company’s tax strategy in Brazil.
Koeck’s lawyer is David Sanford of Washington, D.C. He also represents the other in-house lawyer, Lorene Schaefer. She filed suit last year accusing GE of discriminating against female lawyers and executives. GE argues that she would have to violate attorney-client privilege if the case goes to trial.
