Legal Ethics

Lawyers Face Lawsuit Over Illegal Sex Tape

When he says "extortion" and she says "harassment," it is pretty useful to have a video of the encounter, even if it was taken illegally.

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Sex TapeSo, here’s some free advice for lawyers: don’t help your client extort money from rich guys. I know Better Call Saul makes skirting around the edges of the law look cool, but it usually ends poorly for everyone involved. A lawsuit against two Georgia lawyers, David Cohen and John Butters, alleges that the attorneys did just that.

The case, filed by Waffle House Chairman Joe Rogers Jr., alleges that Cohen and Butters helped their client Mye Brindle (Rogers’s former housekeeper and personal assistant) make a sex tape with Rogers. Meanwhile Brindle, in a separate lawsuit, alleges that the tape demonstrates sexual harassment and abuse. Only problem with the recording? Rogers didn’t know he was being filmed. And that’s a big no no in Georgia. As the Daily Report notes:

Earlier in the case, [Judge Robert] Leonard viewed the video at the request of Brindle’s lawyers and issued an order saying that the video was made illegally because Georgia law requires the consent of both parties in video recordings. The law requires only one party be aware when audio recordings are being made. Leonard’s order also said Brindle had made the video with assistance from her lawyers, Cohen and Butters. Leonard further noted in that order that the sexual activity between Rogers and Brindle appeared to be consensual, undermining Brindle’s claim that she had been sexually harassed and abused by her employer.

So, yeah, the judge’s order definitely seems to indicate he is pretty skeptical that Brindle was sexually harassed. I guess when he says “extortion” and she says “harassment,” it is pretty useful to have a video of the encounter, even if it was taken illegally.

Leonard noted that in their dueling lawsuits, what Brindle’s lawyers called a demand letter is what Rogers’ lawyers called an extortion letter. Leonard described it as “not merely a run-of the-mill demand letter,” noting it threatened dire outcomes if the dispute was not settled, including media attention, public focus, injurious publicity, criminal charges, lengthy incarceration and divorce and destruction of families.

If you’re reading Judge Leonard’s findings and thinking these lawyers are in for a world of hurt, well, you’re not alone. The judge is fully aware of the potential ramifications:

“This court has struggled mightily to arrive at the order being entered here,” Leonard wrote in Wednesday’s order. “These are serious issues and serious allegations that by letting them go forward, have the potential to cost these parties considerable sums of money, do damage to their reputations and may ultimately threaten their livelihood as lawyers.”

“However,” Leonard went on to write, “this court did not put them in the situation they are faced with.”

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When the judge is worried about your future, that’s probably not a great sign.

Judge Rules Lawyers Must Face Suit Over Illegal Sex Video [Daily Report]

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