Law business Proskauer Rose claims exec fled US with ‘black book’

The main functioning officer of the billion-dollar intercontinental regulation organization Proskauer Rose abruptly left the corporation — and place — with private information like the firm’s highly-sensitive “black book,” according to a new courtroom filing.

The white-shoe Manhattan regulation firm — which has repped the NBA, European soccer teams, and non-public fairness companies — sued Jonathan O’Brien, 55, in Manhattan Federal Court, a 7 days right after he set in his notice and said he was heading to the East African place of Mauritius, in accordance to the lawsuit filed Tuesday.

O’Brien’s resignation arrived just days after he acquired his holiday getaway reward. When asked if he would adhere around to assistance the business transition, O’Brien mentioned, “I owe the agency nothing,” the company claims.

He also advised a colleague that the enterprise would be “very angry” when they realized the place he’d be working up coming, according to the lawsuit.

Meanwhile, O’Brien experienced been hatching a program to steal corporation secrets and techniques for at the very least a thirty day period, the company alleges. He copied confidential data on to a flash drive labeled “2022 tax documents” and deleted 1000’s of his e-mails, the match alleges.

The agency said its laptop or computer techniques are programmed to protect against copying data onto removable drives, like USB gadgets, but claimed O’Brien exploited his significant-ranking posture by telling an IT employee to override the stability evaluate so he could give information and facts to an outdoors advisor.

The organization later on uncovered a listing on O’Brien’s laptop or computer of details he meant to steal –including the firm’s money data and “Black Reserve Binder,” which incorporates comprehensive data on how considerably Proskauer pays it associates and spends its profits, according to courtroom filings.

“Proskauer is nearing its 150th anniversary as a legislation company,” according to the filing. “The Firm is unaware of any personnel (a lot significantly less an officer) ever performing in these a corrupt, debased, and unlawful way.” 

“Mr. O’Brien understood this info would be really practical to Proskauer’s rivals, as it would empower them to efficiently concentrate on and recruit Proskauer’s partners, apply teams, and shoppers,” the lawsuit said.

O’Brien, a graduate of the College of Exeter in England, is not an attorney and had been COO for far more than 5 several years right after he was at first introduced on as the main monetary officer in 2015.

The agency is inquiring a decide to “block O’Brien from misusing its data” and is in search of unspecified damages.

Proskauer Rose did not answer to requests for remark, and O’Brien could not be arrived at.