Abuse of privileged data risks attorney disqualification

The following case combines two very common factual situations. One is when an attorney inadvertently receives privileged communications from the other side; the lawyer is under a clear ethical obligation to return it unread and not to use it. The second circumstance is when an executive employee receives an attorney-client privileged document from the company in the course of her job, takes the document with her when she leaves the company, and gives it to her new lawyer when suing the company. Can the lawyer use that privileged document, addressed to his client and received from his client? 

Dispute over discrimination complaint leads to trouble 

Julie Simpson was Guardian Storage Centers’ chief operating officer. Tracie Dotterer was Guardian’s chief financial officer. Rhiana Davis and Gustavo Amezola held other positions. John Minar was and is Guardian’s chief executive officer. He co-owns Guardian along with his son and daughter-in-law, Eric and Claire Minar. 

In mid-June 2023, multiple Guardian employees, including Davis, complained to Simpson about “discrimination, harassment, and [a] hostile work environment they had been experiencing” based on the actions of Guardian’s then-director of operations Bobby Piccio and the head of HR. The employees didn’t raise the issues with the head of HR because they felt she wouldn’t do anything.