In-House Counsel

Nestle Fired Law Firm Over Poached Secretary Incident

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A word of advice to law firms: Don’t steal secretaries from your clients. And keep your yacht plans to yourself.

Those kind of mistakes proved fatal for a law firm that once worked for Nestle, general counsel Richard Anderson revealed at an Australian legal conference. Lawyers Weekly has the story.

Anderson ticked off the problems. There were the subtle legal mistakes that could have been forgiven. There was the revelation that the firm was acting for a major competitor. There was a misdirected fax showing a partner’s plans to buy a yacht. But the real deal breaker, Anderson said, came when one of the firm’s partners stole his secretary.

“There are some things you just don’t do,” Anderson said. He declined to name the firm.

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