The Edelson defendants are attorneys who fashion themselves as a ‘leader in privacy and tech-related class actions.’ In fact, their ‘practice’ largely consists of nothing more than preying upon unsuspecting businesses, conjuring up nonexistent issues, and then attempting to extort settlements that benefit no one but themselves through payments for their nuisance lawsuits.
— Joseph Marconi, a partner at Johnson & Bell, in the opening paragraph of the firm’s defamation suit filed against Edelson PC and its founding partner, Jay Edelson. The Edelson firm sued Marconi’s firm last year in the first ever data security suit filed against a law firm, and Marconi claims that in doing so, Edelson went on a “self-serving publicity tour spreading their lies and defamatory statements about [Johnson & Bell].” Marconi’s firm is seeking $1 million in damages, plus an unspecified amount of punitive damages. Edelson called the lawsuit “silly,” suggesting that Johnson & Bell might “regret going down this path.”
(Flip to the next page to see the lawsuit in full.)
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Staci Zaretsky is an editor at Above the Law. She’d love to hear from you, so feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.