Alleged Love Triangle Forces Shakeup at Prominent Law Firm
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
An alleged inter-office relationship not only has ended a marriage but ignited several lawsuits at a prominent law firm with Rhode Island ties, court documents show.
Lawrence Cohen, a former partner at Edwards Wildman Palmer LLP (EWP), is suing his former boss for having an affair with his wife and misusing his power at the firm.
Cohen filed a 19-page complaint this month against Walter Reed, his former boss and a managing partner at EWP. Reed has since announced he will step down as managing partner. According to the complaint, which was filed in Delaware Chancery Court, Cohen claimed Reed had an affair with his wife, Laurie Hall.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTThe document alleges the secret relationship between the two compelled Reed to exclude Cohen from important events and promotions, which eventually led to Cohen’s decision to leave the firm he had been a part of since 1986.
Cohen, along with Jay Rosenbaum, who was also a partner at the firm and the co-plaintiff in the case, left EWP in November. The court complaint claimed Rosenbaum chose to leave the firm after he was inextricably linked to Cohen, which reportedly prevented him from advancing in the firm. Cohen, Rosenbaum and Hall all worked in the same department.
Rumors Started in 2010
According to court documents, rumors of the affair between Hall, who is a partner at EWP, and Reed surfaced in the office in 2010. Cohen claims his associate advised him that Reed was in love with Hall, and that Cohen should “watch out.”
Cohen accused Reed of giving his wife preferential treatment, which included appointments to the Edwards’ Operating Committee, the firm’s executive management committee. The lawsuit claims Cohen sought appointments to similar committees as well as employment to high-level management positions to which he was denied by Reed.
Cohen asserted Reed’s decision was made in order to advance his own personal interests and those of Hall rather than acting in the best interests of the partnerships or his partners.
Claims of Special Treatment
The lawsuit states that after the affair allegedly began in 2009, Hall accompanied Reed on a weeklong training session at Harvard Business School. In the fall of the same year, EWP apparently held a weekend “leadership” retreat for selected partners. The complaint claims the selection of those invited was based on Reed’s discretion, which was to be influenced by the seniority of the partners and the revenue each partner brought to the firm. Hall, as chair of the Private Client Department, also had the power to recommend employees of the firm who would be invited to the retreat.
Cohen said he should have been invited to the retreat based on his seniority and the money he brought to the firm. Yet despite these qualifications, Cohen was not on the guest list. He attributed the fact that Reed was again more interested in advancing his relationship with Hall instead of acting in the best interest of the firm. Cohen states that when he had a meeting with Reed to talk about why he wasn’t invited, Reed gave no explanation.
Cohen Alleges Compensation Didn’t Match His Billings
In June 2010, Cohen said Reed reportedly took Hall to Cleveland on a business trip to negotiate a potential merger, despite Hall’s lack of experience presiding over corporate deals. Furthermore, in the beginning of 2011, official court documents stated Hall received a substantial raise of $250,000, even though she did not bring increased revenue to the firm. On the other hand, the same documents affirmedCohen’s billings increased by $400,000, but his compensation only increased by $200,000. The complaint contended that just one month before the raises took effect, Hall revealed to Cohen that she believed their marriage was ending and that she was “emotionally attached” to Reed. Approximately nine months later, Cohen moved out.
Cohen insists that once he told his wife he had met with an attorney he was approached by Jeffrey Swope, another partner at the firm, in an effort to formulate a plan to “divide up” the clients between Cohen and Hall. Swope purportedly proposed that Cohen resign as trustee from listed clients even though he initiated the relationship with most or all the clients for which Cohen and Hall were co-trustees and jointly listed as billing partners. After the division of clients, Cohen claimed his revenue to the firm would decrease while Hall’s billings would increase.
In the complaint, Cohen alleges that if he wished to maintain his client relationships and his billings, his only choice was to leave the firm. He also accused Edwards of paying him only $300,000 in 2011. Cohen declared that if he were properly compensated, he would have received over $1,000,000 after profits had been distributed.
Cohen has left Edwards Wildman Palmer and is now a partner Nixon Peabody, a Boston based law firm specializing in real estate planning, asset management and tax services.
The second plaintiff in the lawsuit, Jay Rosenbaum, who claims he lost clients that were "inextricably linked" to Cohen also resigned.
Edwards Wildman Palmer Statement:
John Tuerck, Director of Communications for Edwards Wildman Palmer LLP provided this statement to GoLocalProv:
“The allegations of breach of fiduciary duty and constructive discharge and the requested relief in the complaint are not warranted. They do not provide a basis for any legitimate claims, and the firm will vigorously defend against them. Since the allegations are now in litigation, our response will be in that forum.
“Walter Reed has been a valued member of our firm for over 30 years, most recently serving as our managing partner. He advised the firm in November 2011 that he would step down as managing partner in early 2012 for personal and health reasons, and we publicly confirmed that decision in December. Our senior management in November established a process to appoint Mr. Reed’s successor, which is well underway.”
Acording to his bio, Walter Reed’s Major Rhode Island Deals have included:
Reed advised the owners of Comtec Information Systems, Inc., a Rhode Island-based high technology corporation, in its sale to Zebra Technologies Corp. for approximately $90 million.
He managed the legal team for The Providence Journal Company $1.4 billion to Belo.
Walter led the legal team for the representation of GTECH in its $4.7 billion acquisition by Lottomatica, S.p.A. Lottomatica is an Italian public company which is majority owned by the De Agostini Group.
