Biglaw Associate Arrested Over Plot To Extort Partners
A fired associate allegedly tries to get revenge.
Michael Potere
ALERT: We have an early contender for the craziest story of the year. It’s a Biglaw scandal, natch, and the allegations are just bonkers.
It all starts out simply enough, with a Biglaw associate being fired — a sad, but all too common, story. But when Michael Potere learned his last day at Dentons was going to be June 1, he allegedly decided to get some revenge. According to law enforcement claims reported in the Daily Journal (sub. req.), Potere took sensitive information from the firm and threatened to leak that info to none other than Above the Law — unless he got $210,000 and a piece of artwork. Nice.
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Potere was arrested Thursday on charges of extortion. According to the affidavit, Potere got access to the confidential information when an unnamed partner gave Potere access to his email while they were working together on a case. The info Potere allegedly swiped included some real doozies:
This information included emails between partners, quarterly financial reports, client lists, confidential reviews of associate attorneys, lists of equity partner candidates, documents describing billing rates, details of recruitment efforts, and memos describing how partners should approach clients with outstanding balances, the FBI said.
I think a certain unnamed partner is due for some cybersecurity training.
Potere was allegedly trying to strike a blow for millennials everywhere — see, this is why younger associates get a bad rap:
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During a meeting to resolve the matter that was recorded in early June, Potere reportedly told two partners that he felt like “people his age were getting ‘screwed’ and that hypothetically he might have a chance to ‘screw back,'” according to the FBI document.
It seems Potere was aware his plan could easily go pear-shaped, but thought the potential upside was worth it, even if he lost his legal career as a result. I guess that artwork he was trying to get was pretty fancy, because $210,000 is worth less than a legal education.
Potere allegedly informed the partners that “people who rape other people do not get jail time so he is not worried about jail time for his actions against” Dentons, the FBI said. Potere acknowledged during this conversation that his actions would potentially doom his future legal career and jeopardize his recent admission to graduate school, but he said it would be worth it, according to the FBI affidavit.
As of this writing, Potere has not entered a plea to the extortion charge, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years. He is, of course, presumed innocent until proved otherwise.
Word to the wise: committing a crime is not the best way to get revenge. As with most things, Beyonce is right: best revenge is your paper.
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Dentons lawyer arrested on charge of extorting partners in LA [Daily Journal] (Sub. req.)
Kathryn Rubino is an editor at Above the Law. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).
