Law Firm Bosses Wielded Porn, Slurs, Bad Client Service, Attorneys Allege
Facing allegations that they misused firm resources, two former Klein Slowik lawyers hit back with claims of disrespected clients, racism and pornography tucked into work documents.
January 17, 2020 at 02:58 PM
3 minute read
Months after being sued by their former law firm, two former construction and real estate attorneys at boutique Klein Slowik have hit back with a new lawsuit that accuses the firm's leaders of using racial slurs, placing pornography in work documents, unleashing angry tirades and upsetting clients with their bad management.
Daniel Schneider and Michael Farber leveled the allegations against Christopher Slowik and Stuart Klein in a Jan. 8 complaint in Manhattan Supreme Court. The pair had filed bare-bones summons with notice last year, after Klein Slowik sued them and their new firm, Farber Schneider Ferrari, for allegedly misusing their firm's resources.
According to the new suit, Slowik would entertain himself by sending work product and emails to Schneider or Farber that included pornographic images and videos. "Worse," the complaint alleges, "the pornographic image also showed Slowik's insensitivity to certain populations in that the regular protagonist of these insertions was named, as Slowik advised, 'Bridget the Midget.'"
At one meeting, Slowik allegedly grew enraged when Farber didn't understand a legal concept, and when Farber began complaining about firm leadership generally, Slowik yelled expletives and "threw a writing utensil" at him.
Klein, the suit claims, "was known to openly spew racial epithets" in emails and conversations. Farber said Klein emailed him an anti-Hispanic slur and used a common slur for African Americans to refer to a worker who was assigned to get documents from the New York City Department of Buildings. Schneider claims Klein also used an anti-Asian epithet when Schneider raised concerns about the use of the term "Chinese wall."
The suit also said Klein Slowik mismanaged its relationships with certain clients, sometimes taking six months to send out an invoice. That resulted in the firm taking steep discounts to calm down angry clients, the complaint asserts.
"Klein and Slowik regularly only delegated new matters once the client was angry, or the matter was up against a looming deadline," the suit claims. "Most times, work was disseminated and/or delegated in a frenzy of chaos and frustration without attention given to how much time would be required to onboard and prepare for said matter or deadline."
The new suit claims Klein and Slowik also falsely smeared Schneider and Farber's reputations to clients and lawyers. It seeks $5 million for defamation, violations of New York City and state discrimination laws and various torts.
In recent months, the Klein firm has introduced more details in its previously filed suit related to Farber and Schneider's alleged misuse of firm resources before tendering their resignations. Slowik said in an affidavit that his analysis of emails and phone records made clear that Farber and Schneider communicated with at least five clients about representation opportunities at their future firm in the weeks and months leading up to their resignations.
Klein Slowik has sought to amend its complaint, something the Farber Schneider defendants have opposed. Klein Slowik said it was deliberately vague to avoid "airing dirty laundry," but won't hold back in light of its former lawyers' positions.
Slowik, Farber and Schneider didn't immediately respond to comment requests Friday.
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Construction, Real Estate Boutique Sues 2 Former Lawyers Who Started Competing Firm
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